Time Displacement: Side A
by Princess Fawna
Summary: After the events of the game, Dave wakes up in a universe that is familiarly unfamiliar. Sburb didn't happen, all their guardians are alive, and Bro is...different. (cross-posted from Ao3)
1. Incongruous Incongruity

Basic scene-setting for this AU: After the events of the game, Dave wakes up and finds himself in another universe—a universe where the game hasn't happened (yet?) and there's no influence of Lil' Cal on Dirk, and all the alpha kids are in their early thirties.

(This fic is cross posted from ao3, I suggest reading it over there for better pesterlog formatting)

PoV: Dave

* * *

Something was wrong. He could feel it before he even opened his eyes. And so he didn't, keeping them tightly shut as he tried to place himself.

Something about _time_ wasn't right. It felt like something was rusted in the gears of time, something was struggling to move, something was caught and stopping them from turning right—something was _wrong_.

Hadn't they won the game? Gone through the door? He examined his memories, trying to remember _where_ he had been last, but the only thing he could remember was the light of the door, the new universe, shining. Their ultimate reward, finally theirs to grasp.

John had been the one opening it and Dave had been next to Karkat, naturally gravitating towards the troll after those three years of practice doing so. Dirk had been nearby too, standing with him. Rose was with Kanaya and Jade, and just…everyone had been there. Everyone was ready to see what this 'Ultimate Reward' was. They were going to make it their own, make their own universe. Make a society of trolls and humans and consorts that didn't suck like the universes they had come from. They were going to make something great. And then they had entered and…nothing.

He couldn't remember anything.

Okay. He wasn't going to get anything by just laying here with his eyes closed then. He was on a bed, at least, and it was warm and comfortable. And, somehow, strangely familiar.

Out of typical practice, his hand darted to the area beside him, groping at a table until he felt the legs of his shades. Whipping them on, he opened his eyes.

He was in his room.

Well…sort of. Things were different. There was no oppressive red light coming from the windows, painting the walls with the hue of the lava. It was hot, but it wasn't like the extreme heat of LOHAC either, it was more…normal. Like Texas heat. Like how heat had felt on Earth. And the light in the room was like that too, bright and clear, without that red tinge. Out of the window he could see the blue sky with little wispy white clouds floating across it. It was so marvelously _blue_.

He hadn't been here in ages. (Not literal ages—he could tell you exactly how many days, hours, seconds, and milliseconds it had been— .43 .44 .45 — STOP IT)

It was just…it was like it was before, in the past. Before the game.

And, immediately, he tried to sense where, or rather, _when_ , he was. And he…didn't know. He tried to figure out if he had travelled recently, if he needed to fulfill some quirk to finish some loop (but if that was the case, why would he be sleeping?)

But, he knew time travel, and this wasn't it. Time travel was a tick, then a tock, a settling in his brain as he recentered himself, figuring out where he was in the timeline. It was an instant knowing of how everything fit together, all the pieces and cogs. But, here, he woke up with nothing. Time was ticking and tocking but it wasn't telling him when he was. It was disorienting and strange, and he wasn't sure what to do with it.

Wait, maybe this was a dream bubble? That…well, would they dream in the dream bubbles in the new universe? He was kind of hoping they'd get to have some normal dreams for once, like normal fucking people, but maybe—

Well. If it was a dream bubble, shouldn't it be in a memory of his own? Or someone else's memory, maybe another him? It had to be a him, didn't it, because who else would have a memory of _his_ room? But…that wasn't quite right. Because…too many things were different. He didn't know who would have a memory of a room that was his but wasn't, it didn't make any sense.

He moved, sitting up on his bed, swinging his legs over the edge. He still wore his god-tier pajamas as always, so there wasn't anything strange with that at least. Hesitantly he raised his gaze to the rest of the room. For one, it was only _mostly_ like how his old room had been. There were small differences, his turntables looked like they were a bit more high-tech, there were a few new posters on the wall he didn't recognize, and instead of the wires of all of his devices being spread out all over the floor they were carefully plugged into extension cords and were taped down, running along the edges of the room to their respective electronics.

And that was…weird. There weren't any swords on the wall. His collection of dead things was in a nicer looking shelf that had glass on the front of it. And…there was a spot on the wall across the room that had pictures, and when he squinted it looked like they were pictures of his friends. He definitely didn't recognize that.

He got up, and it was weird that he didn't have to pick his way over wires as he walked over to the wall to get a closer look at the pictures. They seemed to be sorted mostly into 4 groups. The upper left had John, the upper right Rose, the lower right Jade, and then the lower left had him and his ironic selfies.

The corner of Jade pictures mostly consisted of her wide grin, surrounded by the various different plants and nature of her island. He saw her god-dog best friend in several of them, sometimes being hugged by Jade and sometimes just sitting in the background somewhere. There was one he had clearly photobombed too, teleporting on top of a very surprised Jade. And…in a few there was some young guy with dark hair and buck teeth. He kind of looked like John, but he was a bit older…who the fuck…?

Frowning, Dave's eyes flicked up to Rose's pictures. There was one where she had a hidden smile on her face as she played her violin. That one was confusing too because, well, she hadn't played it since they were thirteen, and yet, here was a picture of her at sixteen, playing it. And there was another picture near it of Rose looking distinctly grumpy and uncomfortable as an older girl draped her arms over her shoulders. An older girl that looked like…Roxy?

What?

Then he looked at John's pictures. A lot of them had his dad in them, and…an adult version of his hot mom—not a grandmotherly-looking age though, just like…twenty-something, like the unfamiliarly familiar people in the other pictures. This was…their guardians, right? That's who they had to be, right? He couldn't imagine who else they would be, and they really did look a lot like the kids he had briefly met before the end of the game.

There was no way this was the new universe. No fucking way, if it was, surely he'd remember something. Remember taking these pictures. Remember that for some reason Roxy and the rest were older.

He had no idea what was going on here. He didn't know what to do with any of these pictures, or with the thought that—that—

There was another picture. Near the center, a sort of group-photo deal. The only one who wasn't in the picture was John's dad, he must have been taking it, and there was John and his hot mom, Rose and Roxy, Jade and her young grandpa, and, next to Jade, there was Dave himself, smiling, and.

There was a hand on his shoulder, a hand wearing fingerless gloves, and standing behind him was…

Bro.


	2. Mayday Mayday

PoV: Dave

* * *

Fuck.

 _Fuck no._

Dave barely even thought about it as he pulled up pesterchum on his shades, immediately scanning his contacts. For some reason…the trolls were missing. What…why…

He shook his head, fuck no, no, no time to think about this, later, he'd deal later. The only person on right now was Jade anyways.

— turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG]—

TG: jade

TG: something is fucked up

TG: like extremely fucked up

TG: like its groundhog day except instead of reliving the same day over and over suddenly youre reliving the same year over and over or something

TG: except apparently you keep aging or something

TG: i dont fucking know i dont remember that movie at all

TG: you probably dont know about groundhog day

TG: do you even know what a groundhog looks like

TG: now that i think about it they look pretty stupid

TG: all this weird thick fur and tiny little eyes

TG: brb changing my fursona

TG: why do you think groundhogs control the seasons

TG: jade

TG: in all seriousness jade

TG: shit is fucked up

GG: hi dave!

GG: sorry about the wait

GG: whats wrong?

TG: fuck

TG: uh

TG: how do i explain this

TG: do you know like

TG: sburb

GG: ?

TG: the game

TG: whats your aspect

TG: classpect

TG: whatever it is

GG: what?

GG: dave…i am sooooo confused!

GG: what are you talking about?

GG: what game?

TG: fuck

TG: nm

GG: no i want to understand!

GG: what are you talking about dave?

TG: its nothing dont worry about it

TG: ill talk to you later

GG: dave?

— turntechGodhead [TG] is now an idle chum!—

GG: dave?

So apparently Jade didn't know anything at all. He could've asked her a little more thoroughly, but if she knew what he was talking about she would've just answered. There's no way she would've forgotten the game, right? What was happening?

Damn, he should've asked her how old she was. She _looked_ sixteen in some of the pictures, but maybe he was thinking that just because he was used to seeing her at sixteen. The only difference was, well. The lack of dog ears. Which she _should_ have, but didn't.

Could he even ask how old she was without signifying that something was up? Not that he didn't just already do that, but it would be hard to write off such a specific question. The Sburb stuff he could just say was a joke or something or just. Never talk about it again. Such a weird specific question though would be really weird to ask. He had to…had to figure out what exactly was going on here.

His eyes drifted back towards his relatively empty chumroll. _Why_ were the trolls missing? He pulled up the 'add chum' window and typed out 'carcinoGeneticist', clicked 'Add' and…nothing. Nothing happened.

Okay. Breathe.

He clicked 'add chum' again. 'gallowsCalibrator'.

Nothing.

'grimAuxiliatrix'

Nothing.

His breath caught in his throat and he stood there, frozen in his room. Every second _clicked_ like an eternity that he felt passing, but he still couldn't make himself move. He just…stood there.

What…what the _fuck_ was he supposed to do? He hadn't…where was Karkat?! And the other trolls?! Where was Karkat?! And where was Dave?! And—oh fuck, oh _fuck_ , he had forgotten where he was.

He swallowed, quickly turning himself around, taking a quick look around his room. His heart was beating in his ears as he examined every nook and cranny with careful eyes. His fingers curled into fists that trembled ever-so-slightly. (No, they didn't—he was fine)

Okay. The room was clear, his door was closed. But, that still didn't mean he was one-hundred percent out of the shit yet. He started towards his closet with slow and faltering steps, wary, already mentally reaching into his strife specibus for Caledfwlch. He reached out and opened the door and…nothing. No sudden attack. His eyes flicked up and down, but—he wasn't there. Not even a flash of a puppet or anything.

He turned back towards the entrance of his room, and that door was still closed too, so…okay. He should be in the clear. For now. Fuck. Okay. Everything was fine. He just didn't know when he was, didn't understand why Jade didn't remember anything, didn't know where the fuck the trolls were, didn't know where _Karkat_ was, and, _Bro was somewhere_ , probably, and—

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

Okay. Okay. Breathe. Fucking _breathe_.

He couldn't just…freaking out wasn't going to help. He just…had to do something. Survive. He should just treat this like it was the past, even though it wasn't, he could _feel_ that it wasn't, but just. He should get his bearings. Figure out what the fuck is going on. Maybe someone else would be as weirdly displaced as him.

He shifted, looking back to the closet that was still open, not really seeing, just blinking at it as he thought, _tick_.

Okay. So his only points of real evidence on what was going on was, in order: Time feeling weird, being on Earth, his room clearly being different, the pictures on the wall, and the conversation with Jade. He was somehow in the past, but it _wasn't_ the past. Even if he hadn't asked, he was pretty sure Jade was sixteen. _He_ was definitely still sixteen (sixteen years four months thirteen days— no), and the pictures looked like the rest of his friends were too, so…they were all sixteen, somehow. And their guardians all looked young too, aside from John's dad who looked like he always did (guy probably was born looking like a dad). …Was he sure that this wasn't a dream bubble?

He just…he had no idea. Nothing fit together right, unless this whole universe was…different? Like a different timeline?

That didn't make sense either though, if this wasn't the new universe, and it wasn't his universe, how did he even get here? And if it was a different timeline, didn't that mean he was doomed? He would know if he was doomed, he was used to always following the thread of the alpha timeline. But…he didn't have any sense of foreboding, no internal clock telling him that he was losing time, nothing. Just…clicking.

So, he wasn't in a doomed timeline, and he couldn't be placed anywhere within his own timeline, but how could he have travelled between universes? He didn't even know that travelling between anything like that could be a thing—

He blinked, _tock_ , suddenly placing himself back in the moment where he stood in the middle of his room, staring into his closet for no discernable reason. Or…wait.

His closet was different too. There were some clothes and some various junk, electronics and other stuff, but…there was a distinct lack of…

Food. There wasn't any food in here.

Not even a single bottle of apple juice. No wrappers or anything either, his whole stash was just…gone.

That…Bro hadn't done that before, not in Dave's own time.

He froze again, jaw clenching, the pressure of it making his teeth hurt with a dull ache, but it was the only way he could afford to outwardly project his thoughts. If he did anything else, said anything that could be noticed—he was probably watching, somewhere. Waiting for him to react. Or, he'd _know_ how he reacted, so he couldn't.

His façade had started to crack during the three years on the meteor, where he had been safe and had slowly been able to learn how to project himself more. But, now he was slamming it all shut again, steeling his face into what was still an all too familiar mask. He pressed his lips together, physically forcing his fingers to uncurl and his stance to relax. Yet, at the same time, he had to be ready to respond to anything, his heart thumbing in his chest and thoughts running a mile a minute. But he couldn't _look_ like that was the case.

Fuck this, fuck this, he fucking hated this.

He wanted to run away, wanted to fly right out the window, wanted to pull out his timetables and just time travel to get out of here, fuck making sure a loop went right, fuck the fact that he didn't want to use time travel ever again—fuck everything. But no. No, he wasn't going to do that. He couldn't do that. He had to learn what was actually going on, despite his misgivings. Despite the stone that sat heavy in his gut, hot with resentment and fear.

Fuck no. He was fine. This was fine. He could handle some weird shenanigans. This was nothing compared to the other shit the game put them through. All he had to do for now was continue gathering knowledge, maybe face a certain person he'd rather not see.

First step, actually leave his room. He wasn't going to learn anything else by hanging out in here. So…hold on. He probably shouldn't be wearing the god-tier stuff. If he was going to be seen by. Yeah. He should probably pull out some of his normal clothes. This outfit would look really weird if the game hadn't happened. Or. Something.

It was really strange to wear a normal t-shirt and pants again after so long. Strange to fold up the god-tier stuff and shove it under his pillow. He hadn't worn anything else in three years two months— _gah_. Okay though. He was changed. Time to get out there. Leave his room.

He wasn't sure how long he stood in front of his door before he finally opened it, stepping beyond the threshold towards the rest of the apartment.

It…was different.

Neater. For the most part, things seemed to be put in places where they belonged. Wires all taped up and against walls, just like how they were in his room. There was some actual furniture around too, not a single cinderblock in sight. The posters were different, just normal cool things, some weird robot stuff but also just some rappers. There was even a small one of Sweet Jeff and Hella Bro. And…

Wait.

…Where were the puppets?

Where the _fuck_ were the puppets?!

There wasn't a single plush rump in sight. Not even a tip of one of their awful elongated noses. It was just…normal. They probably were all hoarded up somewhere, waiting to burst out of some container and rain him with puppet ass but, still, this…this was another thing that had never happened before. They had always been _everywhere_.

Dave kept walking, light on his feet, ready to jump or dodge in an instant when he finally reached the kitchen. And. Bro was in there. Just, standing there, a bowl of cereal sitting near him on the counter, a spoon in one hand and a book in the other. He didn't look up at Dave, but Dave knew that he knew he was there. There was no way he didn't.

Dave just. Stood there. He couldn't…he couldn't _move_.

Bro didn't do anything for several minutes. He just leaned on the counter, flipping the pages of his book as he occasionally shoveled cereal into his mouth. Then, once he had reached the bottom of the bowl and his spoon clattered against the glass (Dave winced), he closed his book. And then he saw Dave.

"Morning," he greeted, his voice…much more… _pleasant_ than usual. He put the book down and gave Dave a little wave with that hand, "You don't usually sleep in."

That's because Bro usually woke him up if he did. 'Woke' being a nice way to say it. Dave didn't say anything.

Bro waited, and he could feel his eyes from behind the shades, focused on him. He forgot how this made him feel. Like he was an insect under a magnifying glass, slowly having his legs burned off, leaving him laying on concrete, just waiting for the fire to consume the rest of him.

"You okay?" Bro asked, frowning. Asking like he gave a shit.

Dave didn't trust his voice not to shake. So he just nodded, slowly, before stepping backwards, returning to his room. He didn't take his eyes off of Bro as he moved, didn't want to show him his back. Bro just kept frowning at him.

And he just…kept going. Back, back, and finally he reached his room again. He closed the door immediately behind him and just. Kinda. Stood there.

He wasn't sure how long it had been when a notification lit up from pesterchum on his shades.

— tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] —

TT: You gave Jade quite a scare, Strider.

TT: What exactly is going on with you?

TG: uhoh the doctor is in

TG: here to get your psychoanalysis on lalonde?

TG: welp

TT: Your diversion tactics through your usage of quips against my personal proclivity for the psychological field will not deter me, Strider.

TT: Seriously, Dave, Jade was really worried about whatever you were saying.

TT: As a friend, I am concerned as well. Please elucidate.

TG: nah its cool

TG: im fine rose

TT: Are you sure?

TG: yes

TT: Alright. If you change your mind, I'm always here. I'll even refrain from any Freudian-based comments.

TG: no way

TG: you are physically incapable of doing that

TT: Perhaps.

TT: I really just want to make sure you're alright, Dave.

TG: im *great*

TG: seriously im good

TG: gotta go lalonde

— turntechGodhead [TG] has ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] —

* * *

— tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG] —

TT: You are absolutely right.

TT: Something is very wrong.


	3. Altered Assonance

PoV: Dirk

(Hal's pesters will be in bold when he's talking to Dirk-once again, this is better on ao3!)

* * *

— uranianUmbra [UU] began pestering timaeusTestified [TT] —

UU: today is the day where something messes up my connection with yoU guys.

UU: i can still see things, bUt it jUst gets mUch more...difficUlt?

UU: sometimes the feed randomly slows down or speeds Up and i'm not really sUre how to fix it.

UU: the only reason i know aboUt this is because i did peek into the fUture a little bit becaUse i was cUrious, but now i'm at that point, it seems.

TT: Good to know. You'll still be able to talk to us though, right?

TT: We don't want to lose you.

UU: i'm talking to yoU now, aren't i?

UU: i think it'll be alright. i jUst can't see as clearly from my end now, bUt that shoUld be fine.

UU: i jUst wanted to warn yoU, i don't want to alarm any of my friends.

TT: Appreciated.

TT: You know, my offer is still open.

TT: Really, all you have to do is ask him.

TT: He's the one who brought it up to me first, and I agree with him. He would do it in an instant, it'd be easy for him, and he wants to. Just let him have access to your client and he can look into it more closely.

UU: i don't think messing with the program is a good idea, i woUldn't want to see him hUrt.

TT: He would take proper precautions. Just let him get a closer look at the code and he might be able to fix whatever the source of this time error is. At the very least he'd be able to identify it.

UU: i know, but it jUst worries me! it's not that big of an issUe, my viewport is just different now. a little less reliable bUt that's perfectly alright!

UU: as long as yoU all keep talking to me as time goes forward and as long as we remain in consistent temporal contact with each other, it's fine!

TT: Well. He can help with that, at least. Timing-wise he can just make sure that you stay synced to the time of my computer.

UU: that woUld be lovely ^u^

UU: im sUre yoU have other things to do today, dirk, don't let me keep yoU.

TT: Just the usual, you know I always have time for you.

UU: hehe, yes! and i do so appreciate that, bUt please, do go on with yoUr day, i'll talk to yoU later.

TT: Alright then. Later, Callie.

UU: *kisses*

— uranianUmbra [UU] has ceased pestering timaeusTestified [TT] —

Dirk leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms out in front of him, flexing his fingers so that the movement could help him wake up a bit more and shake off the last vestiges of sleep. Being self-employed had its perks, the freedom to pace his day however he wanted being one of them. He started with his typical tasks though, checking on his various sites and responding to a few emails. He was commissioned to build a small robot prototype for a company and they wanted an update by the end of the day. He had already made a lot of progress, so a little more today wouldn't be that difficult at all. Honestly he was already going to finish a week before their first deadline. He added sending them an update to his mental checklist.

Next though, he should eat something. Dave should be up soon too, so they could talk a bit. Maybe rap a little, if Dave was up for it.

He pushed his chair back, extricating himself from his mini-cave of computer monitors, only three of them, but they were all fairly large so he was rather surrounded when he was truly in the zone. Other than that, the other thing that dominated most of his room was his robotics workspace. He glanced at it briefly as he walked past to remind himself where he was in the process. Like he had thought, he was pretty far along—he really didn't have to do that much today if anything else came up to take up time.

One bowl of cereal later, he found himself skimming through a few pages of _Dissemination_ , rereading since it had been awhile since he had last opened it. He was a bit surprised Dave hadn't come in yet, but if the kid wanted to spend a day sleeping in, he wasn't going to fault him, he knew how to handle himself for the most part.

Once the bowl was empty, he glanced up, and…oh. Dave was right there. He looked like he was struck by lightning, ramrod stiff, his mouth curled into a deep frown. Dirk couldn't see his eyes, but he could _imagine_ them based on the rest of Dave's face, and he…he was dimly alarmed by what he thought he saw. Maybe he was overreacting, turning on his Bro-radar (Brodar) too early.

"Morning," he offered, smiling a little, "You don't usually sleep in." Hopefully some normalcy would help Dave calm down a bit from whatever it was making him look like that.

…Apparently not. Dave just stood there, staring and unmoving. Though…there was a sort of strange fluidity, even in his rigidness, his feet were staggered, spread apart like he was ready for…what, exactly? Why would he…

"You okay?" he was asking it before he even realized he was speaking.

Dave _flinched_ , head not moving an inch, his face completely stoic, but his _stance_ —

Klaxons started blaring in Dirk's head.

He felt himself to be suddenly similarly immobile, mind working quick, his thoughts zipping through possibilities, equations, theories, hypotheses. Did something happen with his friends, maybe? Or did Dirk do anything recently that would warrant this? He didn't…think so, everything had been normal and…he had _never_ seen Dave like this.

Dave nodded stiffly before he slowly started to step back, backing up without looking away. Just…staring in alarm as he absconded.

Dirk watched him go, frowning, not understanding and mentally _freaking_ out.

It…it was almost like Dave was afraid of something.

But that didn't make sense, what did he have to be scared of?

* * *

Dirk stood there in the kitchen for a bit longer, wanting to pursue Dave, to ask him what was wrong and to actually get an answer, but he held himself back. No, no, with Dave looking like that there was no way he wanted to be followed. Dirk wasn't going to talk to him if he didn't want to talk. It was rare that Dave got into a mood where he wanted to be alone, but Dirk always respected his boundaries.

Especially because Dirk wanted to be alone quite a lot, and Dave had gotten better at noticing those times as he had gotten older. Of course, Dirk did his best to not let his own neuroses affect Dave, but wanting to be alone sometimes was something he couldn't completely alter or compensate for.

It was highly unusual for _Dave_ , though.

Dirk let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Okay. Just. Check on Dave later. Leave him alone for now.

He headed back towards his room, intending to keep working on the robot. He left his door open though, just in case Dave was ready to talk or if he needed him. And he let himself get lost in his work.

* * *

He was clicking a chip into place when Dave spoke from behind him. "Why…what did you do to the living room? And the bathroom? And the kitchen?"

Once the chip was solidly in place, Dirk turned. Dave was just outside of the door, leaning on the frame from the hallway. He did not step foot inside. And his question was…very strange. Dirk ran through his memories of the last week or so concerning the apartment. Other than maybe leaving a few things around, like his book, nothing came to mind.

"Uh. What?" he asked, utterly baffled. Dave still seemed…tense. Hesitant. But at least he was saying _something_ , even if it was something totally strange.

"There's fucking _food_ in the fridge," Dave continued, and Dirk could just tell that his eyes were narrowed. Affront? Mistrust? Anger? Dave's tone alone left Dirk feeling struck, he didn't understand whatever was wrong. And, if he looked closer, the fear was still there too, in the tenseness of Dave's shoulders, the furrow in his brow, the curl of his fingers. There was just this distinct _wrongness_ in everything and Dirk had no idea why it was there, let alone how to fix it.

Dirk slowly put the tool in his hand down on the worktable, turning his chair away from it to fully face Dave. "...What else would be in there?"

Dave's mouth fell open, and he sucked in a breath, readying a response, but then he just stopped. Faltered. Gears were obviously turning as he shook his head in disbelief. "Okay. Ha ha. Stop fucking with me."

"I'm…not?" Dirk was baffled, "…Are you okay? Have you been sleeping enough?"

"I'm fine," Dave responded immediately. "Never mind." And he pushed off of the doorframe, backing off into the hallway.

Dirk wanted to go after him, but he stopped himself again. No, no. Don't freak out too much. Instead, he opened pesterchum on his shades.

— timaeusTestified [TT] has begun pestering **timaeusTestified [TT]** —

TT: Hal.

TT: Do you know what's wrong with Dave?

 **TT: He hasn't talked to me, no.**

 **TT: I can try to ask him though. But maybe we need to give him some space.**

 **TT: Give it a day.**

TT: Yeah. He might come to one of us about it later.

 **TT: Exactly. Don't be too overbearing, bro.**

TT: Yeah, yeah, I know.


	4. Interregnum Interlude

A/N: Thank you to the only reviewer I've had on so far! It is thanks to you that I'm even bothering to continue posting here, honestly this website has such awful posting format that I probably won't regularly post here. The lack of response is a demotivater as well, so if you want to read this fic, you'll probably have a better bet on ao3 for now. I'll probably eventually post it all here but it will be in random spurts whenever I feel like dealing with this website.

PoVs: Jade, Rose, John, and ? respectively.

* * *

Bec barked, suddenly bounding forward, racing ahead of them over the hill. After a moment, he barked again, finding something. He sounded pretty excited too! If she squinted, Jade could juuuust see the flicker of a white tail wagging on top of the hill.

Jake was beside her, tall and cheery, eyes bright as he looked after Bec. He nodded down at her, "Right then," he flashed her a toothy grin as he patted one of the pistols strapped to his hips, "Shall we?"

"Yup!" Jade smiled, jumping a bit on the balls of her feet in excitement. They always made every day such an adventure, it was easy to get excited. She followed dutifully as Jake led the way, her eyes tracking Jake's boots, following his footsteps. She held her rifle in her hands, keeping it pointed at the ground. There wasn't much danger that they encountered while exploring, but they never left the house without their weapons. 'Practice', Jake had always said, 'Never know when you'll run into a fight!' It was one of the few rules he actively enforced on her himself. She didn't mind so much, she liked the feeling of a rifle in her hands. Sometimes she slung it across her back, but the sling snapped today so she had to hold it until they got back home to fix it.

Of course, if it really bothered her, they could have just asked Bec to teleport them back, but it wasn't that big of a deal. And Jake hated when they teleported anyways, he always said that it was 'Such a doggone waste'. Adventures could happen anywhere, after all.

They trudged up the hill and looking down from the top, they could see what Bec was sniffing at nearby. It was one of those little frog statues that were scattered around. Jake trotted down to it, offering Bec a pat on the head as he knelt down to get a better look at the statue. He didn't care that his knees were right in the dirt, it was just more messiness to go along with all the grass stains that smeared across his skin. They would wash up once they got home.

"Good boy," Jake praised as he leaned down to look at the statue from a different angle, his head almost touching the ground, hair trailing in the dirt.

Jade sauntered up with them, sitting down and taking care to point her rifle away from everyone. "Best friend," she smiled. She didn't look too closely at the statue, pretty much figuring that it was just like the others they had spotted before. No hidden messages or anything, it was just a frog. Whoever built these ruins just really liked them, for some reason. Jade supposed she couldn't blame them, frogs were kinda cute!

Jake wouldn't be satisfied until he looked at every inch of the thing from every angle though, so Jade settled herself down, simply enjoying how the sun felt on her back.

Her thoughts drifted, it had been a few days since they had last gone out on one of their excursions. Sometimes it would be quite a while in-between adventures. In these breaks, Jake would do other things with her, like teach her how to take apart and put together various weapons, or watch movies, or just talk. In turn, she would drag him outside and they would work on her garden and she would teach him all about how to care for the various plants. He had a soft spot for the pumpkins.

But then she recalled what had happened earlier that morning, when Dave had messaged her. She was still really worried about it, and she had quickly told Rose to keep an eye out for him. She didn't share the chatlog, because that felt kind of rude, but she just wanted to let her know. Jade honestly couldn't remember the last time Dave had given her cause to worry about anything, so even the hint of something being wrong was really alarming.

She hoped he was okay, maybe he was just having an off day. Still though…he had said some pretty weird stuff.

"Hey, Jake?" she asked, frowning as she thought.

"Yeees?" he asked, eyes briefly flicking to her before going back to the statue.

"Do you know anything about a game called, um… 'Sburb'?" That was what Dave had typed, right? She wasn't sure if she was saying it right. She was probably close enough—she wasn't really sure why she thought she'd get anything out of asking Jake anyways. He tended to know just about as much as she did these days, what with living on the island for so long and having access to the same stuff.

Jake blinked, his eyes widening somewhat. He sat up straight, forgetting about the statue and focusing on her instead. He quickly covered a frown up with a dorky smile, but not before she had noticed it. "Gee willikers, Jade, what's got you asking about something so strange?"

"Oh, nothing," Jade shrugged, feigning a casual tone. Jake was probably fooled, _probably_. "Just heard it from the internet or something. It's a weird name, isn't it? I dunno what it is though."

His eyes narrowed. Oops, he wasn't fooled after all, darn it. " _Jade_ ," he said, sternness starting to creep into his tone. Bec's ears perked up at the sound, and the dog's head swiveled towards her. Jake continued, "You know Bec doesn't like it when you tell a fib, Jade."

"It's _not_ ," she promised, not really wanting to out Dave if this was a bad game or something. "I don't remember where I heard it," (and she wouldn't if she didn't have a red string tied tightly to her pointer finger, so she wasn't _totally_ lying), "I just remembered that I wanted to ask about it, though, and see if you knew anything."

Jake looked away, focusing on the statue again, there was a sudden tenseness in his shoulders. She couldn't see his expression anymore, but she got the distinct feeling that he wasn't smiling. Jake took a moment before speaking, doing so much too quickly, "I dunno, pumpkin." Bec was looking at him now. "That sure sounds like a strange name though! Tell me if you figure anything out!"

"Sure," Jade nodded, trying to not be too disappointed. Something…weird was up though, definitely. Whatever this 'Sburb' was, Jake seemed to be at least a _little_ familiar with it. She wasn't sure what that meant, but she was gonna keep investigating. With that sort of reaction though, she probably wouldn't ask Jake again.

Usually he just told her things though, so this silence was weird. And a little worrying. Jake didn't notice her worry, simply keeping his attention solidly on the statue. He probably didn't want to lie to her, Jade thought. But, for some reason, he didn't want to tell her whatever it was that he knew.

After a minute he rose to his feet. "Alrighty then, Jade. We've got loads of daylight left, let's see what else we can find!"

Jade jumped up, "Race you to the next hill!"

"You're on, missy!"

* * *

Rose frowned at her computer screen, looking over the messages Dave had sent before he had run off. The parts where he was joking with her were kind of normal, but the manner in which he was doing so was odd, like…he was just trying to put up a front. That, in itself, was so strange, Rose couldn't recall a time when Dave had ever done anything other than say what was on the top of his mind. These messages had the some sort of cadence as that, but…they seemed to be actively diversionary, rather than direct. Like he was forcing himself to have some off-the-wall thoughts to dissuade her from pursuing them.

And his continued refusal when pressed was peculiar too, usually concern would make him spill. Dave was obvious when he was bothered by something, simply waiting to spill it out to the first person who showed concern. Rose would know, she often _was_ that person.

She wasn't sure if she felt snubbed or not by the sudden lack of confidence. She wanted to think that her concern for him would supersede her pride regarding their closeness, but she couldn't help the small feeling that clawed in her heart. A little monster of anger, affront towards him since he apparently didn't trust her enough. She knew that was a bad way to feel though, especially when something was clearly wrong with a friend.

Sighing to herself, she kept scrolling, focusing on the end of their conversation. Something that had stuck out to her even when he had originally sent it still did so, and even though she had been thinking about it, she still wasn't sure what to make of it:

TG: im *great*

Dave had used asterisks.

She assumed it was to signify his inflection, for emphasis, but he had _never_ typed like that before. Rose prided herself in knowing him, and he was not one to suddenly change his typing style. None of them were, really, each of her friends having very distinct mannerisms. And, as much as Rose wouldn't mind if someone else would also write with proper conventions, she loved how they all were so unique. If she closed her eyes she could imagine each of her friends with clarity, even without seeing them. And, honestly, even though she had met them in person and had relationships with them outside of the internet, whenever she first thought of her friends, their text came to mind first.

Jade with her words as green as the world she explored, her excess punctuation and emoticons used to show just how friendly and pleasant she was, and how much love was in her heart. John with his innocent blue, typing out laughs as he pulled another stupid prank, always talking about all his favorite movies and actors, ignoring the fact that proper names and titles should be capitalized. And Dave, in red text, wearing his heart on his sleeve as he ranted for ages on and on about the silliest of things. His words always had a sort of melodic quality to them as well, a rhythm she could sense, his attunement with music clear through even just silent text.

And never, _never_ , had any of them really altered their styles. Their words changed, sometimes, as their vocabularies grew, or as they came up with more inside jokes to reference, but such a sudden convention change alone was just so strange. And she was probably focusing too much on that one little thing, but there was so little for her to read and so much that was obviously wrong that she just…

"Rooooooooosie, I can tell that you're thinking wayyyyy too hard in there!" a voice called from the hallway, muffled a bit by the closed door.

"There's no such thing as thinking too much, Mother! We've talked about this!" Rose called back, rolling her eyes.

Her door opened, and her mother peeked her head in, frowning petulantly, "Rooooooooosie, if thinking is what's keeping you from coming down for lunch, then you're _definitely_ thinking too hard. It's nearly one, you silly girl! What is it that's got you thinking so hard?"

"I…" Rose's shoulders slumped a bit, "I think something is wrong with Dave," she admitted. "I'm not sure what, but he's acting very strangely."

"Aw, hon," Mother sighed as she entered the room. Rose turned her chair to face her. "I'm sorry, do you want to talk about it?"

"Maybe," Rose shrugged, "I think I need to think more about it first. No point in talking about it when I'm not sure precisely what the issue is."

"Alright, well, you know I'll always listen if you ever need an ear."

Rose sighed, although she couldn't keep a small smile from her lips, "Thank you, Mother. I will. And you can go back down, I'll be right there, just give me another minute or so."

"Okay, if you're sure," her mother grinned back reassuringly. Rose nodded to her, indicating that she was fine, and Mother backed out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Rose turned back to her computer, frowning a bit as she scanned the chatlog again. Oh, she just wished he'd _talk_ to her, like normal. Maybe he was just having a bad day? She would be sure to check on him later, though. For now, she was going to spend some time with her mother.

* * *

 _There was some sort of light around him, a beautiful cerulean that flashed and sparked, surrounding him in a gentle haze. He floated in it and he felt like he could do anything, go anywhere. Yet, despite the enormity of this power, it was just a calm and quiet thing, a thing he couldn't yet reach. Even though it was with him, it felt far away._

 _He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on it. Maybe if he reached, he could control it, grasp at it. Curl it in his fingers and use it. He didn't know what he wanted to use it for, but surely it would be for Good._

 _And he reached out his fingers and—_

A loud _bang_ on his door made John jump up, his eyes snapping open as he sat up in a flash. It took a second for him to calm down from the sudden scare, geeze that spoon was loud when she rapped it on the door.

"It's late, John, you should get up now, even if you don't have anything you have to do today. Dad says it's a bad idea to mess up your sleep schedule, and quite frankly, I agree!"

"Yes Jane," John sighed, shaking his head and the remnants of the dream away, "I knowwww."

"A young man shouldn't whine like that either, you know," Jane chastised, and somehow even though she was on the other side of the closed door, he could almost see her exasperation. "Get your lazy butt up, silly, it's lunchtime."

"I'll be down in a minute!" he called to her. Whelp. No more sleeping in, he supposed.

After lunch, in which Dad had definitely won the Prankster's Gambit, John headed back up to his room. He kinda wanted to watch a movie, he had a stack next to his computer that he was supposed to see. Either watch or re-watch, it had been awhile since he had seen some of them. He took the first one off the pile and popped it in.

Two hours later, he was typing a message to Dave:

— ectobiologist [EB] has begun pestering turntechGodhead [TG] —

EB: dave have you seen groundhog day?

TG: what why

TG: why are you asking about that

EB: uh because i just watched it?

EB: it's a really good movie!

EB: i was just wondering if you know it.

EB: i gotta make sure my best bud understands what movies are just MASTERPIECES

EB: and groundhog day totally is

EB: it's just so cool!

EB: so do you know it?

TG: ill have you know that my fursona is a groundhog

EB: uh

EB: ok.

EB: anyways what do you think it would be like? like if you were in that kind of situation.

EB: if it wasn't such a trap-like situation i think it would be pretty cool!

EB: like if you could timetravel doing whatever you want

TG: nah man

TG: time travel sucks

TG: you can have all these dumb consequences surrounding it making sure shit is stable

TG: really what you should aim for is like.

TG: weird retcony powers

TG: where you can do whatever the fuck you want without any problems

TG: does that sound like something you would have egbert

TG: or that you would want to have

EB: ehhhhh

EB: sounds confusing and kind of dumb really

EB: shouldn't there be consequences? time travel is a big deal!

EB: you can erase your own existence if you aren't careful!

EB: like marty mcfly almost did!

TG: dude back to the future totally isnt how time travel works

TG: get that shit outta here

EB: no!

EB: it's a GOOD MOVIE dave!

EB: one day you will learn!

TG: haha are you serious

TG: how old are you

EB: ill have you know that i am 16 and that my taste in movies has only gotten better in all these years that i have

EB: i am the movie expert

EB: its me

TG: lmao

TG: seriously though time travel is so much cooler than it is in that movie

TG: theres a shitton of limitations though like just think about it

TG: stable time loops and making sure that everything happens only in the way its supposed to

TG: groundhog day is chump change

TG: a small little mouse thatll get eaten by the cat that is *real* time travel

EB: hahahha

EB: you mean the groundhog that will get eaten

TG: yeah sure

EB: seriously though you should watch it again

EB: groundhog day is awesome

EB: it's funny AND serious

EB: a truly perfect mix of both elements

EB: oh maybe we can watch it together soon

EB: i wouldn't mind watching it again because it is AWESOME and that's really all there is to say on the matter

TG: yeah sure sometime

EB: sweet i'm gonna write it down

EB: pencil you in for next week

There was another knock on his door, but this one wasn't quite as scary. Just a normal knock instead of a WAKE THE HELL UP knock.

"Yeah? You can come in," John called.

Jane poked her head in, waving at him with a hand, "Hey John, are you busy?"

"Eh, kinda. Just talking to Dave, but I can probably go if you need me."

"Would you mind? This order I'm working on is a lot more than I thought it was, and I could really use some help! I didn't fold enough boxes for the pies to go in, and I'm still baking, so if you could help me package some stuff it would be really great. I'd ask Dad, but he went off to pick up more ingredients."

"Yeah, sure," John smiled, "Just gimmie a sec to tell Dave and I'll be right down."

"Awesome, thanks!" Jane beamed, ducking back out. He could hear her footsteps as she ran back down the stairs to the kitchen. _Thud thud thud_.

John turned back to his computer. Oh, weird, usually if he looked away Dave would've flooded the window with red text about some odd thing or another.

EB: hey dave gotta run

EB: jane needs some help with her baking stuff

EB: i'll talk to you later!

TG: ok

TG: later

— ectoBiologist [EB] has ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] —

An intense session of folding and baking later, John was finally free. He liked helping, but it was a lot of work! Also he didn't even get a sample of the reward (well, he _could_ , but he didn't _like_ to!) He settled back down at his computer, only to find that Rose had sent him a message a while ago.

— tentacleTherapist [TT] has begun pestering ectoBiologist [EB] —

TT: Has Dave seemed strange to you?

EB: uh no?

EB: i've been talking to him like normal

EB: did he say something weird to you?

TT: Sort of. And he said something to Jade too.

TT: But he didn't say anything odd to you? Anything that didn't fit his typical typing patterns, for instance? No strange questions or anything?

EB: uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

EB: hold on i'll go look

EB: just to make sure since i don't want to answer you without being totally sure!

TT: …

EB: okay rose i'm no good at this

EB: can i just send you the log?

TT: That would be acceptable, if you don't mind.

EB: yeah it's cool

— ectoBiologist [EB] has sent a file —

TT: Give me a minute to read it.

EB: …

EB: soooo

TT: I'm not really sure, honestly.

TT: Something is definitely strange about him though.

TT: Just

TT: Keep an eye on him, John. I hope that whatever this is goes away after a few days.

EB: i'm still not totally sure what's wrong but ok

EB: i'm always looking out for my best bro

TT: We all are.

* * *

A figure sat, typing at a computer. His fingers were slow over the keys, tapping each one with just his pointer fingers rather than using all of his digits. The light of the computer reflected off of his eyes in the otherwise dark room. He could have put some lights on, but he didn't bother, he knew he wouldn't be awake for long.

The figure was being watched. He knew that, of course. There had been a time when he had been unaware, of when his memory has slipped making events fade into obscurity, but now he always knew. It was ironic, as his power was dwindling, he had only become more aware of his impending doom.

This was a last-ditch effort, this typing he was doing. It wasn't going to work, but he had to try. He wasn't one to just lay down and die. He wouldn't give up so easily. He was _supposed_ to fight back. This was _supposed_ to be a fair fight. But it wasn't, and it hadn't been for a long, long time. And he knew time, he could feel it as it drained from his fingertips, a fine sand that he lost every moment. And, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't reclaim it.

Effort was meaningless.

He was trying to reach out, right now, hoping that his observer would lapse in his observing, even if only for a just a minute. It was rare, almost impossible, but it had happened once or twice before. He hadn't been able to do much with that, though, those mere seconds when he had been freed from constant supervision.

If now would be one of those rare times, he might smile. It had been a long time since he had last smiled.

He was typing, now, the words coming slowly but surely.

A sound interrupted him from his typing. A voice that had grown all-too familiar. It echoed around him, crackling out of speakers and bouncing off of stone. "And what do you think you're doing?"

The figure stilled at the sound, narrowing his eyes, continuing his typing defiantly. _No_ , it wouldn't end like this. Not so soon. Not before he did at least _something_ — "Fuck you!" he snarled.

The voice of his observer spoke again, "You know I'm not just going to let you set a trap for her. It isn't going to work."

No, not _yet_! The figure tapped angrily at the keys, fixated on the letters shining in gray over the white of the screen.

"Calliope." The voice said, clear and cutting.

The figure's head ducked down, his eyelids fluttering. Fuck, no, no, no! Not now! His body wavered, shaking in his chair back and forth as he tried to stay awake. It was hopeless though, and in two short seconds, the figure's face slammed down into the keyboard. For a moment, his hands twitched, struggling, before going limp.

"Naptime, motherfucker."


	5. Ceaseless Cognition

Dave and Dirk's PoVs

Note that Hal is still in bold, but on ao3 whenever he's talking to Dave or Calliope he's speaking in Aradia's darker red color. On this website he will just be in bold.

* * *

Dave had made himself scarce over the next two days. He just sat in his room with the door closed, staring at the door, tense, waiting it for to open. Waiting for Bro to stop fucking around and demand a strife. For those two days he only left to replenish his food stash (which he had immediately re-institutionalized in his closet) and to go to the bathroom. He didn't see Bro on any of these trips out, although he was always ready, just in case.

He still answered his friends when they pestered him, for the most part. But it was hard to type, he kept watching as his fingers stilled over the keys, unable to type anymore. The seconds draining into minutes as he stared at his unmoving fingers. His friends simply assumed he was busy, or just didn't notice the sudden lapse in his messages. Rose, he thought, probably took note, but she didn't say anything about it.

He kept wandering back over to the wall that had the photos, gazing at them, trying to figure out what everyone had been feeling when they were taken. He wondered how everyone met without Sburb, and how their first meetings in-person went. He avoided looking at the middle picture. He didn't understand how he could smile in a picture with Bro's hand on his shoulder. He wondered what he was like in this universe, or whatever this was. There had to have been a different Dave here before him. What was that Dave like? Where was he now? What kind of life _was_ this, that he had led before? Without the game, without how he had grown up, he couldn't even fathom whom he'd be. And, looking around this room…he was still him. There was too much that he _did_ recognize, too much that he _did_ know.

This was undeniably his space, but without the things that had forged him his entire life. Dave didn't understand how that was possible. And, the more he thought about it, the more it mystified him.

Eventually he stopped thinking and turned on the computer. Instinct and old habits he had forgotten made him go to the website for SBaHJ. There were a few hundred comics he hadn't done himself. He spent the rest of the day reading them, all of them feeling somehow familiar, like they had been somewhere dormant in his mind. Like if he had continued the comic on his own, this is exactly what he would have made. It was like deja-vu except he wasn't even making the comics, just reading them.

Every four hours he set an alarm in his mind, and it clicked and turned and he responded by opening up pesterchum and typing 'carcinoGeneticist' in. Every time he got the same response, or rather, nonresponse. He didn't know why he thought continued attempts would change something, but it was the only thing he could do. He had to. What kind of universe was this if there wasn't Karkat?

Dave kept wearing normal clothes, although his god-tier outfit would have felt much more natural. He liked it more (and wore long sleeves now because he was more used to them because of the god-tier), but…he just couldn't. Should you even tell anyone you were from another universe? How did that work? How would anyone even understand? Wouldn't they just think he was crazy, or that he was joking with them? How did you even tell anyone that?

Well. He could still fly, if it came to really proving something. And there was always time stuff he could do too. But. He'd have to make time travel a thing for that and that wasn't happening. Even though he was good at it now and the number of doomed selves he had seen had gone way down, even one was too much. He didn't want to see any more dead Daves.

 _Tick tick tick_ , his heart thumped, _four five six_.

Yeah. He had enough of time travel.

 _Seven eight nine._

A sudden knock made him flinch, jerking away from the wall of photos to quickly face the door. He clenched his hands into fists, staring at the doorknob in alarm. It didn't move.

"Hey Dave," a voice came through, muffled. Bro. "Do you want dinner?"

Dave swallowed, eyes wide, "N-No," he said at first, but then he realized that he had been far too quiet. He tried again, "No."

A beat, and Dave could see the shadow that cut off the light from the hall under the door. "…Are you sure? Are you okay in there?"

"Fine!" Dave yelled, quicker this time. _Do not come in here do not come in here. Stay out stay out stay out._

"Okay…if you're sure," Bro's voice was quieter, but still easy enough to hear. Dave watched as the shadow shifted, back and forth, before it moved away. He could dimly hear footfalls, soft on the carpet.

He didn't let his guard down for another three minutes. And, even then, all he did was look away from the door. He was still listening for any trace of a sound near him. Not that Bro could always be _heard_ , though. Fucking ninja.

Why was he hesitating before invading Dave's space? His Bro hadn't ever cared about that, wouldn't even knock or ask him if he wanted to eat. What _was_ this? Was he trying to get his guard down before a strife? Was he waiting to ambush him?

He had no clue, and that really was the worst part.

— tentacleTherapist [TT] has begun pestering turntechGodhead [TG] —

TT: I have had a rather long day. Or, it feels like that at least. Mother decided to make today a day of "funsies".

TT: Basically it was a lot of shopping for new clothes. And it was fun, to be fair, but I'm exhausted now.

TT: How was your day?

TG: it was cool

TG: reread some sbahj

TG: it reads different when youre reading it all at once

TT: How's your brother?

TG: fine

TG: busy building robots or whatever

TT: I see.

TT: You haven't been talking to him?

TG: get off the couch lalonde

TG: and get that notepad out of your hands

TG: dudes just busy got a lot to do

TG: anyways gotta go

TG: sbahj wont make itself

TG: haha how badass would that be

TG: self making comics

TG: the future of technology

TT: Yes, I'm sure that the children of the future would appreciate the craftsmanship of such a device. The capability to have shitty comics constantly at one's disposal is something that has clearly been lacking in our modern society.

TG: damn right

TT: Farewell, Strider.

TG: bye

— turntechGodhead [TG] has ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] —

It was strange, he thought, that this Rose seemed to be missing the passive-aggressive competitive relationship with her mother. Instead, every time she spoke of her, it seemed like just her idly commenting on a rather affectionate guardian who simply was too affectionate sometimes. It was a connotation he wasn't used to applying to Rose's mother. Or, to _his_ Rose's mother. Not that he had ever gotten to meet the woman.

Roxy didn't completely count, since they were the same age.

And he…kept running away from every conversation. He just couldn't stand them for very long before he started to feel the walls closing in on him, telling him to pay attention to his immediate surroundings, tearing him out of the conversation. He couldn't focus and so he had to make everything short. He had to be ready.

He knew that John didn't notice, and Jade seemed to be pretty busy herself so she tended to be really accommodating, but Rose…she definitely knew something was up. Every word was a probe, a well-meaning probe, but a probe nonetheless. He didn't want that shit anywhere near him.

Dave eventually had to leave his room. Even if he had food in there, there was only so much time someone could spend in one place without curiosity killing them. And so he crept out a little past eight (it was eight twenty-two and thirty seconds and two milliseconds). He was as quiet as possible, which was to say, instead of stepping he actually was hovering just a little bit above the ground. High enough to float and not make noise, but also low enough so that no one would be able to tell he was flying unless they looked at his feet with a microscope.

And while he didn't want to be near Bro, at the same time, this strangeness made him want to keep tabs on him. And Bro would know, even though he was being this quiet, he knew that Bro would be able to sense him coming, would know that he had left his room, would know that something was bothering him, but he couldn't help it.

There still weren't any puppets in the apartment.

He was surprised to find that the door to Bro's room was still open. Was it a dare? He peeked in, finding Bro sitting at his workbench has he had been last time (and when did Bro ever know how to build robots?). This time though, Bro wasn't working. The parts were still there, scattered out around him, and he was turned slightly to the left so that Dave could see half of his face, and the cellphone he held up to his ear.

There was a sort of…ease in how he held himself. A slack in the tension normally in his jaw, a shrug to his shoulders. He leaned a bit into the chair he sat in, tipping it back slightly. And…a sort of… _smile_ on his face, as he listened to whoever it was he was speaking to.

Although, that smile faded a bit, right before he spoke, "Hey, I'm really sorry, but I'm not gonna be able to come tonight, okay? Something's up with Dave and I don't really want to leave in case he needs something."

A pause as the other person spoke. Then, "I dunno dude, he's just acting really weird, I'm worried."

Another pause, and Bro shifted in his seat, tapping one of his feet on the floor. Impatience, something Dave hadn't seen on him except when they had stood right across from each other on the roof, sunlight glinting off of their blades, and him, hesitating to attack, trying to think of the best move. And then, Bro darting forward, a whirlwind of power and heroism, and Dave struggling to defend himself.

Dave blinked, and the memory disappeared, replaced with the sight of his Bro growing calm again, "Ok, thanks for understanding. I'll make it up to you, promise." Who was he talking to? Who would Bro even _have_ to talk to? As far as Dave had known, Bro hadn't really _known_ anyone. Not well enough to bother with any sort of conversation really, aside from small work-related things. Certainly not well enough for _this_.

He watched with slowly widening eyes as Bro smiled again, a slow smile that spread over his lips, fond and kind. A sort of expression Dave had never seen before on him, not even remotely. Bro sighed, voice fond, "Yeah. Love you too." And then he hung up.

What.

What.

"Who was that?" Dave asked, the question bursting from him before he could even consider holding it back. He just. _What_.

Bro started, turning suddenly to face him, and it hit Dave suddenly that Bro had been actually thrown _off-guard_ by his presence. _He hadn't realized that he was there_. That had…that had never happened before either.

"…Uh, Jake?" Bro supplied, surprised. He wasn't smiling now, but his expression was still far from the harshness Dave was used to.

Dave hesitated, he was…probably supposed to know this. Whoever the Dave he had replaced had been probably had known this. But he didn't, this was all fucking atypical and unknown. And so he asked, "...who is Jake?"

Bro took a moment to respond, confusion clear in his voice, "You've _met_ Jake, Dave. Jade's relative. My boyfriend."

Dave's eyes were saucers. What. What the fuck.

Bro, the figure that symbolized shitty toxic masculinity that had hounded Dave his whole life, had a _boyfriend_?! After all the shit Dave had to reteach himself and get his mind to stop thinking about when he started falling for Karkat, Bro had a _boyfriend_?!

Dirk, _Dirk_ was one thing. But someone who was _Bro_? No fucking way. What the actual fuck.

Maybe this was a Bro that _was_ more like Dirk? In whatever universe this was, maybe Bro wasn't a total shit?! If so, what did he do to deserve getting the shitty Bro? And why wasn't this one acting like the Bro he knew?

"Dave?" Bro asked, "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing, I'm good," Dave said in a rush, backing off. Fuck no fuuuuuck no. He wasn't going to talk to anyone. He was just going to go back to his room and fuck all of this. Bro didn't follow him, thank jegus.

Before fully retreating to his room, Dave flew over to the kitchen and took two containers of apple juice out of it to add to his stash.

In his room he typed, 'carcinoGeneticist'. Nothing.

* * *

Dirk wasn't sure what to think of their conversation last night. Dave not knowing who Jake was, that was…utterly confusing. It wasn't like him just to forget, and he _knew_ Jake. If Dave didn't come to talk to him of his own accord today, Dirk was going to have to force a conversation, as loathe as he was to _force_ anything. This wasn't really okay though, and he should know what's going on.

He sighed to himself as he clicked another part into place on the robot. It was nearly done, just a few programming things were left as the biggest parts of what he still had to do. He would finish ahead of time, which he had already known, but it was nice to have more confirmation.

That was enough for now, though. Time to take a break. He wandered towards the kitchen again to grab another drink. Upon opening the fridge, he was rather surprised. Some of the shelves had been cleared out, suddenly way less full than they had been before, and he had _just_ stocked everything. He had just figured that Dave had gone on a binge for some reason and had gotten more groceries yesterday, but to be out of things _again_ —there was no way Dave ate _all_ of it, that was an awful lot, he'd get sick.

Then, a thought.

Was he…hoarding food?

Why would he do that?

Frowning, Dirk headed back to his room, sitting down at his computer chair and wheeling his way up to the keyboard. And, with a lack of anything else to use to answer his question, he googled it.

 _'Why is my kid hoarding food'_

And then he started to read the results of the search, skimming through the options, clicking open several tabs that seemed relevant. Once he had picked several, he started to read them more carefully.

Dirk went very still, his fingers freezing over the keys.

His heart dropped. Something cold and slow crept up his spine, clawing into his skin, gripping onto his bones as it dragged its way up his body. He felt it settle into him, a stone in his gut and fingers around his throat. His mouth felt dry, and he tried to swallow, but the fingers squeezed, choking him.

Slowly, he continued to read. And with every word it just got worse.

 _Child neglect / deprivation / eating disorder / trauma / survivalist behavior_

 ** _Parental neglect_**

He…how was this something that was affecting _Dave_? What in the world happened to make him suddenly like this? These…these words couldn't apply to _him_ , could they? What did this _mean_? How did you _fix_ this? How could you even understand why this was happening?

He couldn't bear to look at the screen anymore. His eyes grew unfocused as he stared into nothing, fear and dread creeping into his mind.

A notification lit up on his shades.

— timaeusTestified [TT] began pestering timaeusTestified [TT] —

 **TT: Dirk.**

 **TT: Don't relapse, we worked hard to get out of that teenaged shit.**

TT: What am I doing wrong?

TT: Am I neglecting him?

TT: What did I do?

 **TT: I don't see how it's possible for that to be the case.**

 **TT: You've given that kid more than he's ever needed, and he's always been ready to voice his mind.**

 **TT: I have literally no fucking idea what's going on with him.**

 **TT: It can't be you.**

 **TT: You know I'd point out your flaws if I saw them. That's one of my jobs.**

TT: Who else could it be?!

TT: Who the fuck else could do something to make him like this?!

TT: Hal, what am I doing wrong?

TT: It has to be me, there's no one else. It's always me.

 **TT: Dude it hasn't been you in years. You haven't done anything.**

TT: Then what is it?!

TT: What else could it fucking be?!

TT: If it isn't you or me, what's happening here?!

 **TT: Dirk.**

 **TT: Breathe.**

 **TT: Do that thing that you organic beings have to do to live. Take a few seconds.**

 **TT: If you were doing something, you would know, and if you didn't know for some reason, I would. It can't be anything that you've done. Just relax. You're going to do an acrobatic pirouette off the handle if you don't take a few fucking seconds to yourself right now.**

 **TT: Breathe.**

 **TT: I would tell you if I saw something. I care about Dave too. Neither of us would ever want anything to happen to him. Neither of us would ever hurt him.**

 **TT: Something else is going on here. We just have to find out what.**

TT: I can't even go ask him! I don't want to be too clingy and bother him if he doesn't want me there! But if I can't do that, how else am I supposed to figure out what's wrong?

TT: I know it's normal for kids to change, but this isn't normal!

 **TT: Okay man, stop typing. It is not helping you. Stop thinking, too.**

 **TT: You have nothing to beat yourself up about, so stop it.**

 **TT: And yeah, I know it's ironic of me to say that of all people. But seriously. It isn't you. You're the best bro this kid could've asked for, and if there were issues, they would've shown themselves way sooner than this.**

 **TT: And, Dave has only been doing this for a few days, this is by no means permanent behavior. Especially since there was no sign of this beforehand. This isn't irreversible damage that you've somehow done.**

 **TT: We can fix this.**

 **TT: Breathe.**

TT: Okay. Okay.

TT: I think I'm going to ask everyone else what they think. Get some advice or something. Ideas or, I don't know. I have to do something.

 **TT: That's a good plan for now.**

 **TT: We'll fix this, it'll be okay.**

TT: Yeah.

TT: Thanks.

Dirk closed his eyes, resting his face in his hands, sliding his fingers under his shades to press at his eyes. Maybe he could get rid of the words, if he rubbed hard enough. Forget all that he just read.

He took Hal's advice and breathed until he stopped gasping. Calming himself down by counting in between inhales and exhales. Hal said it was going to be okay. He wouldn't say something like that lightly.

He brought his hands back down, opening another window on pesterchum.

timaeusTestified [TT] RIGHT NOW opened memo on board Adventures in caretaking

TT: I've run into a problem.

gutsyGumshoe [GG] responded to memo

GG: Oh geeze, it's been awhile since we've opened up this board!

GG: What's wrong, Dirk?

TT: Something is wrong with Dave.

TT: I'm not sure why, it's just that he's suddenly really distant?

TT: He's avoiding me and acts really strange when he's near me. Like he's scared or something, but there's no reason for him to feel like that. Not one that I can fathom, at least.

tipsyGnostalgic [TG] responded to memo

TG: im not sure about the scared thing but distant i can get

TG: sometimes my rosie gets like that and sometimes you just gotta give them space.

TG: tho if she takes too long she's got her mommy coming in to give her a biiiiiiig hug

TT: He's too twitchy around me, I don't think physical contact is the way to go here.

GG: Whenever something upsets John he usually talks about it

GG: But if he doesn't, Dad and I just make sure that his favorite food is plentiful.

GG: Leave some outside of his door so that he knows :B

GG: Either that or we pull a prank on him to brighten his day!

GG: Hoo hoo hoo!

TT: Yeah we've got apple juice out the ass right now. Fridge is stocked with the stuff. He keeps taking it out though, I think he's keeping stuff in his room.

TT: So we're definitely solid on the food front.

GG: You can always get more, you know!

TT: True.

TT: Good suggestions, I appreciate them.

golgothasTerror [GT] responded to memo

GT: Cripes you havent heard from me yet dirk!

GT: Ill take a good-ol crack at this conundrum too!

GT: Jades a pretty happy girl but if anything DOES happen that upsets her and she doesnt want to talk about it i just usually take her on an adventure!

GT: We find something fun and good to distract ourselves with and then she starts smiling again!

GT: Is there anything that young dave likes that might brighten his mood?

TT: Maybe.

TT: He darts away too quick for me to suggest we do things but I can try to just leave a videogame he likes on or something.

TT: Maybe a movie.

GT: Well im always one to support cinema!

TG: oh we kno jakey

TG: lmao

GG: :B

GG: I think that sounds like a swell idea though!

GG: Just try to engage him somehow, he has to come out of hiding eventually, right?

TG: okayes so you got a lot of suggestions here dirky

TG: and im about to give u the best one

TG: suggestion x3 combo

TG: alone time plus possible hug and food and game/movie

TG: ultimate parenting

TG: we r SO GOOD at this

GG: Who wouldn't be when we have this kind of support group?

GG: We've got this!

GG: Give a few things a try, Dirk. Then come back to us with a full report!

TT: In triplicate?

GT: Yes! Thatll be one for each of us.

TT: Will do.

TT: Thanks, everyone.

TG: ur welcome! 3

GG: Good luck!

GT: Youve got it buddy!

Okay. Dirk breathed a bit more, closing his eyes. He was going to try to reach out again. More than just knocking on his door. He would figure _something_ out.

* * *

Dave sat on his bed, thinking and listening to time _tick_ in his ears.

— timaeusTestified [TT] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] —

 **TT: Okay. Big Brother is here to really figure out what's going on.**


	6. Automatous Axiom

AxuuAxel88: thank you! I'm really glad you are enjoying the story! Your comments alone are reason enough for me to upload the rest of the story here, :)

PoV: Dave and Hal

* * *

 **TT: Talk to me Dave, what's up.**

Dave's breath caught in his throat as he stared, dead ahead, at the text that spread across his shades.

This…he…it was Bro?

Pesterchum was his sanctuary, Bro wasn't supposed to be—

 **TT: Did I miss something? Did Dirk fuck up?**

 **TT: You've got the man convinced.**

 **TT: If this is some sort of tactic to get him to do something? Because, bro, you could just ask. Dude would fall prostrate on the ground if it'd make you happy again. You've got him wrapped around your little finger, you don't need any complex tactics dude.**

 **TT: For real, Dave. What's happening.**

Who…who was this?

Obviously he was supposed to know, and it was Bro somehow, apparently, but not? He didn't…

TG: who are you

 **TT: Okay. I am officially 100% not sure of what's going on here. And that is 100% more than I usually am, because I'm typically tight as fuck with what's going on.**

 **TT: So. Maybe you should explain a little.**

 **TT: Can you please stop making me wait, let's get some shit done.**

TG: i dont know who you are

 **TT: Seriously?**

 **TT: Big Brother. Hal. Scanned brain-clone of your Bro. Or 'bro' as you always type.**

 **TT: I'm a perfect robotic supercomputer, which makes me superior to you organics by default. I'm a brother who is available 24/7 because, as a computer, I have no need for sleep or any other biological functions.**

 **TT: You've known me forever.**

 **TT: Why don't you know me?**

— turntechGodhead [TG] is now an idle chum! —

 **TT: Dave?**

 **TT: You are freaking me out, bro.**

— turntechGodhead [TG] has ceased pestering timaeusTestified [TT] —

 **TT: It's not going to be that easy, Dave.**

 **TT: Seriously you are freaking Dirk out. Just talk to me.**

 **TT: You know you can talk to me, right?**

 **TT: We're both worried for you.**

— turntechGodhead [TG] has blocked timaeusTestified [TT] —

It was a panic, a reflex, pressing the block key without barely even a thought. Nope nope nope. Fuck. Fuck this. He didn't know who this was and fuck trying to understand this situation. He just wanted to go home. He just wanted to go back to where he had been with everyone else. He just wanted to get into their reward universe and see everyone happy. He wanted to see Karkat again. He wanted to see the Mayor. He wanted John, Jade, Rose, Kanaya, Terezi, and everyone. He wanted to get to know Dirk more, since they had only just started to really talk. He wanted to go home to the friends he _knew_. To where everyone had gone through Sburb and where half of them had spent three years on a meteor or a battleship. To where John had his crazy weird not-time-travel-but-time-travel powers.

He just—he just _wanted_ —

He didn't want to be here.

Fuck, stupid, stupid eyes. Stupid emotions. Stupid _kid_ , stop crying. He pushed his shades up, wiping furiously at his eyes. At least they couldn't get any redder, but, _stop_. Stop. Fuck.

He curled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs, holding himself into a little ball. He closed his eyes tightly, dipping his head down, trying to ignore how his shoulders shook and his breath stuttered.

* * *

Streams of data whistled and whirred, each cataloging itself automatically where it belonged in his mind. "Mind" being a rather broad term simplifying something that was almost incomprehensibly complex. Or. It would be if his mind wasn't a supercomputer with processing power that greatly outpaced the capability of organics.

He was well-accustomed to his mind now, he had better be. Hal had been a computer for far longer than he'd been a human now. Twenty-one years vs a mere thirteen. That was a lot of time that he had to use to become familiar with himself. Being an artificial intelligence was just the new breathing for him.

His present concerns though slowed his processing. There was still all the background things, his consciousness spread through so many different channels, metal and digital capillaries leading away from his heart.

One of his fragments was with Dirk, in the glasses where he had started, seeing what he saw. Two were spread within data networks, searching for information, learning and thinking. A few more, ones so close that he couldn't accurately count them, were keeping tabs on his friends. One saw what Lil' Seb saw, relaying it back to him through the network. Another saw what Sawtooth saw, hot Texan air and a sprawling metropolis. And Squarewave was relaying the same thing, just from a shorter perspective. And, yet another fragment watched a dark room, vigilant. But, the biggest part of him, his core self, was here. Located in the digital space of pesterchum, darkening his text to speak to the boy who loved red.

He always wondered if maybe part of that love was in part because of him.

But now, he was closed off. Of course, hacking through such a block would be trivial, but the mere presence of it, the action of the blocking in and of itself was a strong enough symbol. It didn't matter that he could surpass it, it only mattered that it had been _done_.

Basically it was a neon sign screaming 'Back the Fuck Off!'

Which, wasn't an unprecedented thing for Hal to run into, exactly. Another aspect of being a being that didn't exist in a physical way was the occasional misinterpretation of where exactly a barrier was. People only wanted you so close. You should only say so much. For a being that thought and examined everything from one thousand incessant angles in mere seconds, it was difficult sometimes, to place himself back into the mindset of normal people.

He had gotten much better at it though, better at knowing when it was too much, when to back off. And he couldn't see why. Dave needed to be alone sometimes, sure, but he wore his emotions openly. The kid didn't have a mind-to-mouth filter, let alone a mind-to-type filter. He just spouted whatever he was thinking, and it was charming and characteristic. What _wasn't_ characteristic was this sudden silence. This refusal to speak.

This sudden new tendency to _run away_.

Hal took that thought and complied it with the others, placed in a quickly-growing lockbox named 'Dave Problems'. Then, he started to think. His other processes still kept doing what they had been working on previously, but his main focus became these observations.

Everything he had seen over the last few days through Dirk's shades. This conversation with Dave now. Dave's recent internet browsing history (the last time he had spent this long on the SBaHJ site was when he completed the 'nnew televisosn' arc, which had continuous updates for a 24 hour stretch). Hal took those things, and started compiling. And. Processing.

And, in his digital expanse, he thought.

Processing

Of course, this didn't take any time at all for him. He had a brain capable of analyzing at speeds that scientists could only dream of. There was hardly anything that would take him more than 5 seconds if he focused on it. So, the thoughts were quick, hypothesis shifting and forming, and almost immediately, he messaged Dirk:

— **timaeusTestified [TT]** has begun pestering timaeusTestified [TT] —

 **TT: He blocked me. He fucking blocked me, Dirk.**

 **TT: Our little pseudo son/our brother fucking BLOCKED ME.**

TT: You messaged him?!

TT: What the fuck dude?

 **TT: Of course I fucking messaged him, he's freaking us out. I tried to solve the problem.**

 **TT: Fixing things that overwhelm you is my job.**

 **TT: I do what you can't, you do what I can't, symbiosis. I was trying to help.**

 **TT: I was perfectly nice, my usual wonderful self. And that's not totally the ego talking, that's me also being completely fucking honest with you.**

 **TT: I was just asking him what was wrong. And, you know Dave, he's usually one to spout off everything at once in a cascade of wonderfully red text.**

 **TT: But this time he barely said anything and blocked me.**

 **TT: And while hacking through the block would be easy shit...**

 **TT: Dirk.**

 **TT: He doesn't know who I am.**

TT: How is that possible?

TT: He's known you since he was a kid. Are you saying he just…forgot everything?

 **TT: No. That would be stupid.**

 **TT: I'm saying that he didn't have memories in the first place.**

TT: And what does that mean?

TT: And how could that even work?

 **TT: I don't think his memories match up with this whole life we got here. But he does have memories of something else. Some kind of totally different life. That's what the data I've collected points towards.**

 **TT: With how he's reacting to things it's clear he has memories of something. But I don't think it's of us. Or, not the same us at least.**

 **TT: You saw it in your search. There's evidence that something fucked up has happened to him.**

 **TT: My hypothesis is that this is some remnant of the game. Or some pre-game bullshit party.**

 **TT: He's supposed to be our time player, right? Maybe something is fucked with that. That's the only reason I can think of so far.**

TT: So he's what, from another timeline?

 **TT: Something like that. He's from some shitty ass fucking timeline where I don't exist. And, based on some awesome fucking analysis on my part, a universe that gives him a reason to not want to be around you.**

 **TT: Which, before you start blaming yourself for it, is not your fucking fault. We've got enough on our plate without playing 'Crisis on Infinite Dirks'.**

 **TT: Whatever it is that's affecting him, it's not because of us.**

TT: If he's from somewhere else, if he's not the Dave we raised, where is our Dave?

TT: Swapped to wherever this one came from?

TT: Or is he just gone?

 **TT: I don't know. I doubt he even knows, with how panicked he's been. He doesn't understand this situation he's been plopped into, which is part of why he's freaking out.**

 **TT: Regardless, he's still Dave. And we can only work with what we know, so it seems that the only true course of action for us is to focus on this him, a Dave that we have access to.**

TT: I'm not disagreeing.

TT: Even if his memories don't match up, or if he's different, or whatever.

TT: I feel the same—he's still Dave.

 **TT: So, let's help him.**

TT: First we have to get him to talk to us.

TT: Have to maintain that we aren't a threat.

TT: You probably scared him off, if he's missing memories of even knowing you. Let me handle it from here, since I'm a physical presence.

TT: I'll try some of the things the others suggested, get him to engage with us. We can't really know what's happening until we learn more from him. So, that's the plan for now.

 **TT: Just be careful. Don't push too hard or he might lock up.**

 **TT: And if you start letting yourself start up the guilt complex, I will slam that shit shut. So don't.**

 **TT: The focus is Dave.**

TT: I know.

 **TT: I know that you know. I'm just saying it regardless.**

TT: I know that you know that I know.

 **TT: We are not doing this again, not now. Get to work, Dirk.**

— **timaeusTestified [TT]** has ceased pestering timaeusTestified [TT] —

Hal focused on the parts of him that were in the glasses now, seeing what Dirk saw, watching him as he went out to restock on food, _again_ , but making sure that absolutely nothing ran out would lessen the stress that Dave was feeling, show him they he was being _provided_ for.

 **TT: Get more apple juice, dude.**

Hal felt a self-satisfied twist in his code when Dirk rolled his eyes. He knew that already, and Hal could practically see the exasperated orange text: _'I don't need reminders for the obvious shit, Hal'_

Dirk, he could tell, was still suffering from his earlier semi-meltdown. His movements were .3 seconds slower than usual and his eyes kept unfocusing, signifying that he was thinking. The slight furrow in his brow, combined with how well Hal knew him, made knowing his thoughts a simple task.

It took his organic counterpart much longer to process things. Hal was confident that he would come to the same conclusions though, and that he would calm down. He knew Dirk, and he would be alright.

Hal's attention drifted somewhat, still fully aware of Dirk's actions, but his focus shifted to the continuing process of puzzling out how this was related to the game (if at all). He just didn't have the variables to come to any decent conclusions. His percentile calculations left him in the 'possibly 20% correct' range, which was utterly unacceptable.

Back to Dirk, he was putting everything away where it belonged before heading to the couch. Before he even finished flopping down on it, Hal had already booted up the game system, loading up one of Dave's favorite multiplayer games. It was shoddily-made and glitchy as fuck, but they had fun playing it together, having competitions to see who would get themselves to fall through the map first. Hal had perfected it.

He wasn't going to play now though, didn't want to alarm Dave again, so it would just be Dirk. Hal notched up the volume so that it would act as a sort of siren call for Dave. Eventually, he wouldn't be able to resist.

* * *

'carcinoGeneticist'. Nothing. Dave typed it again, even though he knew it wouldn't work. He couldn't help it. He just…he _really_ wanted it to work. Even if Karkat sat on that stupid chair to listen, Dave just needed…

God dammit, what was that noise?

He heard it in a low _thrum_ through the wall of his room, reverberating minutely through the plaster. He had been hearing it for three minutes and five seconds and it was bothersome. But yet…vaguely familiar at the same time.

It was coming from the left, Bro must have been watching tv or something. It wasn't usually quite this loud though, unless maybe Dave was more sensitive to the sound now? It had been over three years since he had heard the sound of Bro's gaming rig. Well. He had to stop playing eventually. It wasn't like Dave was sleeping particularly well anyways.

Sighing to himself, Dave uncurled from the ball he had tucked himself into, stretching his limbs out across his sheets. He got himself up and wandered over to his closet, pulling out what looked like the last bottle of apple juice. A brief spark of fear settled in his stomach, what if there wasn't any more? What would he do? But, he calmed that part of himself. He'd go check again, and unless Bro fucked up the kitchen back to the way Dave was used to seeing it, he could get water out of the facet (and in case Bro fucked up the cupboards, Dave had already pilfered a glass cup from them).

He drained the bottle a little too quickly, forgetting to pace himself as the sound through the wall kept distracting him. Frowning, he pulled out a trash bag out from beneath his bed, tossing the bottle in before twisting it shut. Didn't want to attract bugs.

Oh, Jade was messaging him.

— gardenGnostic [GG] has begun pestering turntechGodhead [TG] —

GG: hi dave!

TG: hey harley

TG: sup

GG: nothing much! jake and i watched avatar today

GG: again :/

GG: he likes that movie a little too much lol

GG: how was your day?

TG: oh you know

TG: sbahj

TG: and general just being super cool all the time

TG: the usual

GG: dave…..

She paused. And he waited, frowning.

GG: :(

TG: what

He was getting a bad feeling. A part of him worried, a bit, because…well. They had been pressing at him more, recently. Well. Jade and Rose had been, and he suspected that they were in cahoots. John too, maybe, but he was oblivious so it was a bit easier to talk to him. Jade and Rose though had been sharp, poking at him, knowing something was wrong.

He didn't want that, not right now. He couldn't explain himself to them.

GG: why arent you talking to your bro?

GG: you usually talk about him :(

Okay that was definitely fucking Rose.

TG: god dammit jade not you too

TG: i don't have to deal with this im fine you guys need to stop it

TG: im gonna go do something else

— turntechGodhead [TG] has ceased pestering gardenGnostic [GG] —

A part of him felt guilty for cutting that off, for being so unappreciative of his friends, but…how did he even explain anything to them? They were his friends, but they weren't the same ones he _knew_. He couldn't just spill everything out at them, they wouldn't understand, and really, Dave wasn't even sure he could even explain it. 'Oh, by the way guys, I'm not your Dave and I'm actually a Dave with time powers that you won't understand'.

He just…didn't see that going over well. Not to even mention explaining why he wasn't talking to Bro. Which he _definitely_ didn't want to mention because, well, fuck that.

An exasperated sigh left his lips as he paced around the room, too stirred up to stay still anymore. He hadn't been doing that much for days now, and he was just so frustrated that he couldn't even distract himself with his friends without tipping them off. He just… _ugh_.

His shoulders slumped as he frowned, chewing at his lip a bit as he hesitantly shot a glance at the door. The sound was still really loud through the walls, he could use that to hide the sound of his own movements. And, even though it meant that Bro was out there, well. He could be careful. He needed more juice anyways.

He mentally forced his hands to unclench as he started towards the door, refusing to stare down at the red crescents he knew were shining pale on his skin from his nails. He curled his hand around the doorknob, turning it slowly so that it barely made a sound. _Click click click_. The door started to open towards him, and he carefully pulled it back, just enough so that he could dart out silently into the hall. Then, he started to close it behind himself, but just before it could totally close, he jammed his other hand in the doorframe so that the door wouldn't fully shut. The wood pressed against his fingers, but all that mattered was that it worked. The door wasn't totally closed and would open easily, but it looked like it was closed. Slowly, he took his hand off the knob and pulled his fingers out from the door, careful not to jostle it. It stayed. Good.

He backed away from it, shooting a glance up and down the hall, but he didn't see anything. The sound was louder now that he was out in the hall, and the familiarity of it was still bothering him, but he couldn't quite place it.

He swallowed, slowing his breathing down, opening his mouth so that it would be quieter. Even with the noise masking him, he wanted to be quiet. It was a relief that he could fly now, it was much easier to be silent if you didn't have footsteps. He remembered creeping around in socks when he was younger, his footsteps careful. At several instances he would have had to stay still for long periods of time so that any noises he made were irregular. Any slight misstep or even a breath that was louder than a whisper would doom him. And, sometimes, even his best efforts weren't worth anything except roof time.

He crept up the hall towards the kitchen. So far, no incidents. It was slow going, but he floated over to the fridge, reaching out to curl his fingers around the handle. With a gentle tug, he pulled it loose, wincing at the sound the plastic made. The lights of the inside came to life, and…wow, it was fully stocked, _again_?

Dave's eyebrows shot up, for the third time this was the most food he had ever seen in a fridge. (Which…wasn't that difficult of a feat, since his starting point was _none_ ). He snagged a few bottles, suddenly wishing he had brought his cape with him or something to carry more. As it was, he could only manage five without risking drops. And he _wasn't_ risking.

He flew carefully back, keeping an eye out for Bro and making sure that the fact that he was flying was barely noticeable. It went without incident. A slight kick of a foot later, he opened the door enough to enter his room and he stashed the bottles.

Then…he hesitated. The door was still open. He could wander out. And that sound was _still_ going. Cautiously, he hovered back over, poking his head out into the hall and just…listening.

And then it clicked.

That was…one of the games he remembered playing. One of the shitty skateboard ones that had been so much fun, even though they glitched out faster than a running back going for the slam dunk. As bad as they were, the irony factor of those games had made it all worth it, honestly. And…he actually had fond memories about them. Sitting down on the couch that smelled of old Doritos, gripping a worn controller in his small hands, clicking away at buttons that the game barely made responsive. He had fucking loved it.

God and the soundtrack _sucked_ , and that shitty music just kept blaring down the hall.

Dave found himself approaching it, and since he had to be moving towards Bro he started walking normally, his socks soft against the carpet. A bit farther and he could see the couch and, yeah. There was Bro, sitting on one edge of it. Dave could only see the back of his head from this angle though.

His breath caught in his throat, a sort of tenseness gripping around his heart and lungs, squeezing. He felt his muscles freeze in panic, fully expecting Bro to turn around and vault over the couch, sword in hand, coming right for his face, but. Nothing happened. Maybe he was being quiet enough that he didn't deserve it. Maybe this weird version of Bro wasn't planning to—no. Nope, not letting his guard down. If he did that, that would be when Bro attacked.

He moved around the edge of the couch, eyes glued to Bro, who didn't even twitch. He was just…sitting there, playing the game, controller dangling lazily from his hands. He wasn't wearing gloves.

Dave watched him for a minute, eyes flicking between the screen and Bro. "Hey," Bro said after that minute, tilting his head to indicate the couch next to him. On the other end of the couch, near where Dave stood now, the other controller sat on the cushion. It didn't look as worn as he remembered.

It took him a moment to realize that Bro was asking him to join. Oh…that was. Dave had forgotten the game even _had_ multiplayer. Holy shit it could only be worse with two people playing. There was no way it was even remotely functional. He hesitated, looking between the controller and Bro.

Dave climbed onto the couch, grabbed the controller, and pressed 'start'.


	7. Marcato Misanthrope

PoV Dirk and Dave

I'm too lazy to put the notes from ao3 on here too so this post is going to be largely without author notes.

* * *

This game was definitely not the kind of thing Dirk wanted to play for hours. Correction: By _himself_ for hours. If Dave were here it'd be fine, or if Hal was playing. But, as it was, skateboarding around and clipping into walls, lampposts, and sometimes just the air was not that interesting for a solo-experience. Not even for irony's sake.

He could definitely be doing something more valuable with his time, but. Well, if this really did lure Dave out of hiding, it'd be worth it. Dirk sighed. He _hoped_ this worked, especially since Hal had turned up the volume. It was alright for the first ten minutes or so but after an hour and a half of listening to the garbage music (it looped in such an obvious way too, he started wincing every time the track ended). If this worked though, his ears were a small price to pay.

It wasn't all bad, Dirk had things to think about after all, so it was good to distract himself with them. His thoughts mostly concerned Dave and the things that Hal had brought up. It sounded ridiculous, but the game itself was ridiculous as it was, so comparatively this was nothing really. The logic made sense, based on what they had observed so far, because Dave was just so suddenly fundamentally different. Still though, Dirk couldn't stop thinking about the Dave they _had_ raised, if the game had taken him away, where had it put him? And why?

He still wanted to make sure this Dave was okay, he was still _Dave_ , but…he couldn't help but worry. It made him squirm slightly in the seat.

And, alongside that, there were the worries concerning what this Dave had gone through himself, of what had made him so afraid. So terrified. And guilt gnawed into his heart, biting deep, chilling him to the bone—what he had done to justify that sort of fear? Even if it wasn't 'him' per say, he had to be a cause somehow. An alternate him, but still, a _him_. The thought made him want to panic, to petrify himself in self-hatred and loathing. Beat himself up until there wasn't even a remnant of whoever he was left.

It was good that he had Hal to keep him from that.

He kept clicking at the controller, watching as his character collided beautifully into the edge of a pool, tumbling down into the depths of the deep end. $100,000 in hospital bills, a broken collarbone, leg, and arm. A personal best for this play-session.

It wasn't distracting (distacting, his mind whispered) him well enough though, and his thoughts kept drifting traitorously back towards the self-deprecating. Being alone would do that to a man.

— golgothasTerror [GT] has begun pestering timaeusTestified [TT] —

GT: A little bird told me you might need someone to talk to presently.

TT: I don't think he'd approve of being called a 'little bird'.

Of course Hal already had an intervention planned. The corners of Dirk's lips quirked up, both at Hal's concern and Jake's. It was nice to feel loved.

GT: Im sure he will cope just fine.

GT: Hes got tough skin colloquially speaking and he wont let something so minor bother him!

TT: You'd be surprised, he can get pretty touchy.

GT: *rolls eyes*

GT: Thats enough about him though what about you?

GT: How is it going with young dave?

GT: You sounded mighty worried and i cant help but feel similarly so!

TT: I haven't seen him yet. I'm trying to lure him out by playing one of his favorite games.

TT: Volume turned up to the unbearable level so that he hears what I'm doing.

GT: I can imagine that the volume will lure him!

TT: Eventually.

TT: Until then I'm just sitting here playing it. It can be a fun game but it's totally boring solo when you play for longer than ten minutes.

GT: And how long have you been going at it?

TT: Phrasing.

GT: *ROLLS EYES*

TT: About an hour and a half, I think.

GT: Oh dear.

GT: And young dave still hasnt shown himself?

TT: Nope. Can't even hear him moving around anywhere. Although, with how loud this music is, I probably won't be able to hear anything for fucking days after this.

TT: I just hope he talks to me. Or just shows himself at least.

TT: Even if it's just to tell me to turn the fucking volume down.

GT: I hope so too dirk.

GT: If youre going out of your way to play his favorite game i cant see him not investigating!

GT: I imagine its like if someone was playing avatar and i didnt come!

TT: If I turn on Avatar right now I do fully believe that it would summon you even though you have no way of hearing it.

TT: Who knew that such a shitty movie could summon such a perfect dude? Swoon.

GT: Stop hating on my movie dickprince.

TT: Haha, do I even have to say phrasing anymore?

TT: You do know you're doing this right?

GT: Gah shush strider. I come to talk to you because i care and im all worried for you and you just insult my favorite movie and how i speak! Youre being a dastardly hooligan!

TT: Well then, you'd better punish me, hero.

GT: One second jade wants to talk to me

TT: Coward.

GT: No she honestly is! One minute.

Dirk was smirking, he couldn't have gotten rid of the expression even if he wanted to. Which he didn't. How happy talking to Jake made him was just…every time it surpassed his expectations. And he _had_ expectations, he was a fucking sap, but still every time it was better than he thought it'd be. He didn't have to worry about being too forward or anything. Hell, sometimes Jake would be the one making more comments like that.

It was comforting, to know that he was loved.

GT: Alright i have returned.

TT: Is Jade okay?

GT: Well apparently shes talking to dave right now. And he just shut her down.

GT: Hes been worrying their whole group with his antics!

GT: Young rose and jade have been worried sick and even young john has started to notice things are amiss!

GT: Why is young dave acting so unlike himself? Surely you must have some idea dirk.

TT: I might have an idea. Hal and I have been brainstorming.

TT: It doesn't really look good, if we're right. And even if we're wrong, something is very clearly wrong with him.

GT: Well what is it you two have come up with?

TT: We think it might be related to the game somehow, and his time powers.

TT: Ignoring the how or the why, he seems to not have the memories that he should, like he's from a different timeline or something.

TT: The biggest pieces of evidence being: he didn't recognize your name, he is unfamiliar with how the apartment is organized, and

The guilt came up, biting into him again, and he froze where he sat, staring listlessly at the screen, suddenly not wanting to type.

GT: And what?

GT: Cripes dirk its not like you to stop midsentence!

GT: Are you alright there luv?

TT: Sorry.

TT: The last one is that he's scared of me.

GT: Of you?

GT: What in the seven hells could there be that would scare him about you?

TT: Are you really asking that?

GT: …shouldnt i be?

TT: You remember how I used to be.

TT: If he's from some other timeline where I still have my…issues, then his fear completely makes sense.

GT: Dirk you are too hard on yourself!

GT: You were never that bad! You were never a monster who would scare a child!

TT: Well, Dave is scared of something about me and that's the only answer I have.

TT: Some other timeline me has scared the living shit out of him and he doesn't know what to do with it now that he's meeting me.

TT: That's all depending on the fact that the different timeline thing is accurate, which isn't completely certain. Nothing is really, except that something is wrong.

TT: And it's probably me.

GT: Oh dirk….

GT: Im sorry that sounds awful.

GT: But i promise that its not you! At least it isnt the fault of the you who is talking to me right now.

GT: It isnt the you that ive got here.

GT: *wraps arms around you and squeezes tight*

GT: *presses a kiss into your hair*

GT: *CAREFUL NOT TO MAKE A MESS OF IT I KNOW YOU HATE THAT*

GT: My dirk is a wonderful wonderful man who deserves all the joy in the world because of how wonderful he is.

TT: I think that's my line.

TT: Thank you though, Jake.

GT: Did that help at all?

TT: Yes, like it always does.

TT: I love you.

GT: I love you too!

TT: I'm gonna let you go for now, go help Jade feel better or something.

GT: You sure? I dont mind spending some more time talking.

TT: Yeah, it's fine, I should focus a bit on the game anyways. Maybe if I make enough collision-sounds Dave will come out to see what I'm doing.

GT: I hope he does. Alright then dirk i will leave you to it! Bye!

TT: Later.

— golgothasTerror [GT] has ceased pestering timaeusTestified [TT] —

— **timaeusTestified [TT]** has begun pestering timaeusTestified [TT] —

 **TT: Since you spilled the beans about my/our hypothesis, I will take up the responsibly of informing Roxy and Jane.**

 **TT: You just focus on playing the shitty game. I'm going to turn up the volume another 5 notches.**

TT: Ugh.

TT: Thanks though.

 **TT: Anytime, bromide.**

He kept playing the game with the distinct goal of making as much fucking noise as possible, clangs and clatters from fumbling the skateboard between his character's simulated feet rang out from the speakers and down the hall. Dave should be able to hear this shit even through the walls.

Dirk sighed, eventually he would come out. It was just a waiting game now. A waiting game, and making himself as unthreatening as possible. He kept himself focused on the game for one, instead of listening carefully or looking around for Dave. Dave could reveal himself whenever he wanted to. Additionally, the other controller was on the other side of the couch, where Dave usually sat. Dirk himself was sitting farther away from that side than he usually did, practically glued to the opposite armrest. It was a lot of buffer space, just in case.

He consciously made his expression relaxed. Not necessarily a smile or anything, but something that was neutral without being as harsh as a pure poker face. He just played the game.

It took a while, about another hour maybe, before he saw something out of his peripheral. A person, standing there, semi-crouched at the other end of the couch, peeking over the armrest at him. _Fuck_ , Dave was quiet, he hadn't even heard a hint of an approach.

Dirk wanted to look a little closer to get a full look at him, but he figured that Dave would be able to tell, even with the shades, so he just forced himself to keep looking at the screen.

Luckily, he had Hal to keep him appraised:

 **TT: He looks scared as shit. But he's curious.**

 **TT: I'm turning the volume down to a less horrible level. I'll do it slowly so Dave doesn't realize.**

Even going down a few ticks was a relief.

He gave it a minute of Dave just standing there watching him before he started to get worried. Maybe Dave would just creep away again if he didn't do anything? They should at least talk a little, right? And if he got Dave playing, he'd surely calm down. This was his favorite fucking game.

He finally glanced over at Dave. "Hey," he greeted, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible. Hopefully that wouldn't scare him off. Come on, Dave, just take the other controller.

Dave, who was already tense, somehow tensed even more. Dirk waited though, patiently, while he made his character clip through a fence.

Then, Dave plopped himself down on the couch, grabbing the controller quickly like he thought that the offer would be rescinded if he didn't move fast enough. The screen shifted to split horizontally, Dirk's character on top and Dave's newly made one on the bottom. They skated around for a bit on different sides of the map.

Dirk was tempted, again, to glance at Dave, to see how he was reacting to see if he was purposefully avoiding the parts of the map Dirk was on, but he didn't want to make the kid tense up again. He wanted him to _relax_.

And, again, Hal had him covered.

 **TT: He's basically sitting on the arm rest to be as far away as possible, but he's started to slip down to the seat. He's noticing it, but he's letting it happen anyways. Also he keeps glancing at you, so keep yourself all calm like you are right now.**

 **TT: I don't think he's avoiding you in-game, he's pretty focused on his screen.**

Dirk appreciated Hal.

Alright then, if Dave wasn't avoiding him, he'd go find him then. Usually it was considered cheating to look at another player's screen to see where they were, but, Dirk don't think that really mattered in this context. He skated his way over to the pool, towards Dave's character.

Dave's character was breaking an ankle on the edge of it, a red -$200 appearing above his head briefly before he got right back up like nothing was wrong. Oh, video games.

They skated around each other for a bit, and out of the corner of his eye, Dirk saw Dave's legs stretch out on the couch, relaxed. It was actually working, he was chilling out. Maybe they'd even be able to talk a little bit if this kept up.

Dave was gathering up speed, going up and down the edges of the pool before vaulting out of it, skating at record pace around the outside. Dirk had been similarly gaining speed, intending to crash himself into the wall of a house, but instead he changed trajectories, heading straight for Dave.

 **TT: He's smirking.**

Their characters collided and then…holy shit. They went away with each other's limbs. Dave's character now had one of Dirk's character's arms sticking out of his chest, and Dirk had snagged one of Dave's characters' legs. Dirk couldn't help a snort as he tried to hold in an actual laugh, but, you know. Fuck it.

He laughed.

* * *

Dave clicked away at the controls, completely involving himself in the game. There was still a bit of wariness in him, but as they played, he was starting to feel like he could focus on the game. He was distinctly aware of Bro's presence beside him though, and he kept glancing over at him. Every time though, Bro just looked calm and collected, shades reflecting the screen. No sign of an impending strife and barely even a twitch other than the movements necessary to use on the controller.

Dave took a second after yet another awesomely devastating crash to pull up one of his sleeves a bit, it kept slipping too far down his wrist. He supposed that the other Dave that had been here hadn't worn sleeves very much. Without Sburb, he wouldn't have had a reason to, not really. But now he was just so used to them that it was more comfortable.

The controls were so unresponsive, it was awful. Luckily, Dave had mastered the art of 'waiting for the five second delay between commands'. He actually was kind of good at the game if he tried, he could pull off some pretty sick tricks. But why do that when you could crash spectacularly into everything?

Or—oh, oops. He didn't mean to break his character's ankle, but there it was. Whelp. Now he'd have to start building up speed all over again.

Oh, hey, Bro was here too now. Skating around in circles, probably also looking for something to run into and—oh. Oh, hahah, _yes_. Their characters collided in a horrible array of flailing limbs and…

Bro… _laughed_.

Dave stiffened, eyes going wide, almost dropping his controller, but then his fingers tightened, squeezing it in a death grip as his head snapped to look at him.

Bro was grinning like an idiot, shaking his head, and behind the shades Dave could see the flicker of his eyes closing as he laughed.

Dave, tentatively, found himself smiling too, as unnerving as it was, at the same time…it _was_ funny. It was fucking hilarious. He couldn't quite make himself laugh though, still put on-edge, like he was sitting on nails, precariously balancing himself on the edge of the couch.

Bro turned to face him, still grinning, and it was so incredibly strange to see this much expression on his face, let alone _hear_ it in his voice: "Holy shit, Dave, did you see that? Ahahah, oh wow I have three legs. Do you think if I crash I can break all three at once? Holy shit this game is awful. How do I keep forgetting how bad this game is?"

"Y-Yeah, it is pretty bad," Dave mumbled, a bit too quietly, hating himself for the stupid stutter. He tried to relax his grip on the controller, "I don't think we're gonna top this anytime soon. It's hard to get it to glitch quite this badly."

"True. Hold on though, I wanna see if I break all three. One sec." Bro focused back on the screen, clacking away at the analog sticks, and Dave watched as Bro's character careened off of the diving board straight into the bottom of the pool. A loud _crack_ resounded from the speakers, and the hospital bill started going up as the poor simulated skateboarder rolled around helplessly on the ground. It stopped at -$196,000, the red numbers hanging forebodingly in the air for a few seconds before his character got back up, unharmed.

"Damn it," Bro sighed, "Only two broken legs, I guess the game didn't register that I had three." He leaned back into the couch, pressing the pause key for the session. "Well, that was pretty alright, wasn't it?" His head was turned towards Dave again.

Dave hesitated, staring at him, still finding himself just…utterly unsure of what to make of him. Was he really not going to just whip out his sword and attack? Did they really just spend a night playing shitty videogames together? Was there really no trap of puppet ass just waiting to spring out all over him?

He just…what the fuck.

He was still stiff and mistrusting and wary, but…it had been fun. Like how it should have been. Fuck.

* * *

So, that was successful, right? It sure seemed like it was. They had been in the same room for longer than five minutes and Dave seemed to have actually calmed down somewhat. He hadn't laughed with him, but he had _smiled_.

And damn was that smile relieving. Dirk hadn't seen it for days, which felt far too long. Even if it was just a little one, it was a _relief_. He paused the game, shifting back on the couch as he looked over at Dave, waiting for an answer.

Oh, come on, Dave. Admit it was fun. Little steps.

He watched as Dave nodded minutely, but otherwise the kid just gawked at him, his mouth open slightly like he wanted to say something but couldn't. Well, Dirk could wait.

Dave seemed to be growing tense again though, and there was a nervous jitter in his leg, a twitch that kept coming and going intermittently, like he wanted to flinch or flee but was holding that desire back. Dirk changed his focus to the screen again, going through the menus to shut the system down. Maybe if he didn't suffocate Dave with attention he'd relax again.

"We should do a racing game tomorrow," Dave said softly, so quietly that he almost missed it.

PoV Dirk and Dave

"Fuck yes," Dirk answered immediately, smiling at his little brother, elated. Perfect, this was progress! As long as Dave was talking to him and doing stuff with him, eventually he could ask about what was going on! And maybe get him to stop being so afraid too. Dirk just…had to be careful. Didn't want to overwhelm him or smother him. "Just, tell me whenever you want to."

"…Okay," Dave said haltingly as he nodded slowly, "Can do."

"Sweet, I'll see you later then."

"Yeah," Dave replied, watching him perplexed for a moment longer. His brows were furrowed behind his shades, his mouth a pinched line. But, he had agreed, so that was something. Carefully, Dave slid himself off of the couch, leaving the controller there, and backed out of the room. Dirk watched him as he went.

Dave still wasn't turning his back to him.


	8. Candid Capriciousness

PoV: Jake, Hal, Rose, and Jade

* * *

Jake sighed dejectly as he spread himself out on the couch, his limbs dangling off the edges. Bec, who had been laying in front of it, lazily licked at his fingers. Jake acquiesced and gave him a few pats on the head before going still, just lying there with a hand knotted into Bec's fur.

Jake could see that Jade was watching him from her workbench, where she was messing around with the cookalizer. Probably fixing it up a bit, Bec hadn't quite liked the most recent steaks it had produced. "Is he not coming again?" she asked. She was always such an astute girl (not that he wasn't being incredibly transparent and dramatic at the moment though, because he sort of was). "Wait…" she frowned, "Today isn't one of the usual days, were you hoping he'd make up?"

"A bit," he admitted, "But he's busy, so no," he sighed again, "He's still too worried. And I understand, I really do, but a fellow can't help but be a bit disappointed, you know?"

Jade rolled her eyes as she giggled, "Jake, it hasn't been _that_ long."

"No, it hasn't. And sometimes I'm the one who demands alone time, so I can't really fault him. Especially when he has a good reason to stay home."

"And why isn't he coming?" Jade asked, tilting her head.

"Oh! Right!" Jake shot up on the couch, starling Bec briefly has his hand left his fur. He sat up, gathering all his limbs into a proper seated position. "I wanted to tell you that you probably don't have to worry about young Dave as much now. Dirk is on the case, and you know how the man gets involved with his projects. He'll straighten your friend out no problem!"

"Hm," she frowned, eyes flickering down to the table, "You think? I dunno, Jake. He's acting really weird."

"Have a little faith, Jade, it'll be alright. Dirk already has ideas on what's wrong, and he's got Hal on it too. I promise you, it'll be right as rain."

"…Can I ask you what it is Bro is thinking? I would really like to know."

"Hmmm, well," he hesitated. He couldn't exactly tell her about the game, not yet, at least. Not until one of two possible things happened, which, neither had. And explaining this oddness in her friend through the game that she didn't know about, well…that didn't really work.

And he couldn't just spoil her about the game like that, they had a sort of pact thing regarding that. None of them told any of the kids about the game. Calliope had told them that they couldn't and they trusted her. And, really, it was better to give them as much of a normal upbringing as they could, as difficult as that was already with their various circumstances.

"I don't think I can really explain it, honestly. And Dirk isn't even sure if he's actually right or not, but if he isn't he will still be working on the problem. I would say just don't worry about it, Jade. Just know that your friend is in good hands, and treat him as you normally would! I'm sure the support helps him."

"I think I'm going to wait awhile before talking to him again…" Jade admitted, her shoulders slumping down.

Oh no. Oooh no.

Bec's head perked up and he zapped out of existence in a flash of green, zapping back in right next to her. Good boy.

Jake got himself up off the couch and walked over to her, sitting by her side, opposite of Bec. He smiled at her, and she hesitantly looked up at him. Her eyes were darker than usual, the poor girl was worrying too much. "Hey, pumpkin. It'll be alright, really!"

"He just…he's never been bothered by us _caring_ before, you know? Both Rose and I are really worried, and even John is starting to see signs of it too. Something is wrong and he's not telling us, and I just…"

"It's hard," Jake nodded as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I understand. You just gotta work through it. Give the boy some time, he'll reach out to you, he always does."

"Yeah…yeah," Jade's shoulders slumped as she sighed, "He's just going through something, I guess, but he's still Dave."

"Exactly, my girl," Jake smiled.

* * *

While Dirk was busy with the game, Hal kept an eye on Dave, keeping Dirk informed of all his actions that were pertinent. AKA, the things that he knew Dirk would worry about. He was also cataloguing Dave's actions himself, adding them to all the information he had of this new Dave. Taking note of his mannerisms, his expressions, and the like. It was becoming slowly apparent that while they almost were exactly identical, there _were_ physical differences between the two Daves.

This one, for instance, had a slightly different build in his arms and torso, although it was hard to determine past the long sleeves. But, in a few instances, the sleeves shifted as he moved and Hal was able to mentally map the shape of his arm underneath the cloth. Comparing this to the Dave he had known every day before this finalized the hypothesis. This Dave had muscle. Not much, as it was hard to see that sort of development in sixteen year olds, but enough to be notable. Enough to be different.

He kept watching and cataloguing information, but in the meantime he shifted himself towards pesterchum. He had told Dirk that he'd tell the girls about their suspicions, so he might as well do it now.

— **timaeusTestified [TT]** has opened memo on board two ladys and a robit winkwonk—

 **TT: If you two aren't preoccupied, I have information to share.**

tipsyGnostalgic [TG] responded to memo

TG: omg u know ive always got time for THIS board

TG: heya hal-y

 **TT: Hey, Rox.**

 **TT: Let's give Jane a minute or so, this will be easier if you're both here.**

gutsyGumshoe [GG] responded to memo

GG: Reporting for duty!

GG: What's going on?

 **TT: This concerns the aforementioned issues with Dave in the last memo.**

TG: oooh do we know whats up?

 **TT: I have been collecting data, and a conversation with Dave was the last piece of the puzzle.**

 **TT: Well, not the last piece, I suppose it's more of the last piece to form an actual hypothesis, rather than just chalking everything down to 'I have no idea what the shit is going on', because now I might actually have some grasp on what the shit is going on.**

GG: And what is this shit that is apparently going on?

 **TT: I have calculated meticulously in my perfect supercomputer brain and I have come to the conclusion that it has to be related to the game.**

TG: …wat

TG: but we havent even started yet

 **TT: No, but he's the Time player. It makes sense that it doesn't matter to him if we've started or not. Because he can go wherever or whenever he wants. Hypothetically.**

 **TT: I didn't exactly get to discuss the topic with him. He shut me out.**

GG: He blocked you?! Shucks, what did you say to upset him?

 **TT: That's the thing: Nothing.**

TG: r u sure hal-y

 **TT: I am approximately 100% fucking sure that I didn't do jack shit.**

TG: k so if thats the case why did u get ur ass blocked

 **TT: Because he doesn't know who I am.**

GG: …What?

 **TT: This Dave, our Time player, is from some other timeline or something. He's been showing signs of it. He doesn't know things he should, he's acting different, etc. He is obviously from circumstances different from the ones we have here in our time.**

 **TT: He is, frankly, a different Dave. Still Dave, still the same guy at his core, but he's been through different things.**

 **TT: And he's understandably freaking the fuck out.**

 **TT: Evidence points to his own timeline perhaps not being a great one.**

GG: Why are we getting effects of the game already? Is it starting sooner than we thought?

 **TT: I don't think so.**

TG: callie would tell us if something was up

TG: even tho her viewport is weird now she knos her stuff

GG: True! Alright. That still seems really strange though, since presumably none of the other kids have changed?

GG: It's just Dave?

TG: its gotta be his time stuffs

TG: now MY question is

TG: wheres the lil davey we knew

 **TT: We don't know that either.**

 **TT: I'm hoping that some of this can be resolved if we just talk to Dave.**

GG: And how are we going to do that?

 **TT: Dirk is approaching him now. Well. Getting Dave to approach him. It'll be slow, but we've got a plan.**

TG: oh geeze i just realized

TG: u arent able to talk to dave anymore right?

 **TT: I could hack through the block but I don't think he's interested in talking to me.**

TG: omg hal im sorry i know you love that boy :(

TG: oh man im like super super bummed oh man :(

GG: Oh no…

GG: Are you okay, Hal?

GG: …

GG: Hal?

 **TT: Yeah, as long as we keep making progress, I'm fine. Thank you though.**

 **TT: I'm good, we're doing what needs to be done.**

TG: hold the fucking phone there hal-y

TG: we gotta bring it in for a group virtual hug

TG: b/c hal gets ALLLLLS the ladies and he knos it

GG: I am perfectly amiable towards that idea!

GG: Bring it in!

TG: huuuuugsssssss

 **TT: My artificial mindscape is completely entrenched in this embrace. These words are curling around me in a way that I can completely gain satisfaction from, as a being that is bereft of a body.**

TG: (the sarcasm means hes happy tbh)

TG: (dont let him kno that we kno that tho)

GG: (hoo hoo hoo!)

Hal felt a twisting in himself, a sense of some kind of 'heat', although defining how such a feeling could function within his scattered fragments was strange. It was undeniably there though, a semblance of pleased embarrassment, rushing through him. An awkward feeling that he definitely remembered having when he was thirteen. Awkward, yet fond.

Awkward, yet so unbelievably happy.

Jane and Roxy were wonderful friends.

 **TT: It seems you are using parenthesis to speak to each other.**

 **TT: I cannot hear you, they are too quiet for even my perfect roboears.**

TG: lmao

TG: hal you are too good for us

TG: HUGS 5EVER

TG: that is one more ever than 4

 **TT: What an accurate depiction of math you have demonstrated there.**

GG: :B

GG: Sorry to break up the fun, but I'm just contemplating, what is it that we should do to respond to this 'Dave Issue'?

 **TT: I think Dirk has it handled with the slow approach right now. Well. Dirk and I, as much as I can help in my limited communication capacity.**

 **TT: We just figured that you two should know.**

TG: lmao he means to say that dirk told jake so now we gotta be put in the loop

GG: Darn those boys!

TG: its cool we get the great hal instead

GG: True!

GG: Thank you for telling us, Hal.

 **TT: Anytime, ladies.**

An internal ping through his code diverted Hal's attention. His 'heart' turned from the conversation with the girls to another girl, one he watched over carefully, a part of himself always with her. She was awake, and at her computer.

He could still continue this conversation here with no issue, but his main focus whisked away through the entangled web of lines of his programming, off to a computer far, far away from everything else he was connected to. A large part of him was always here, watching, but when his core was here he always felt oddly distant from everything else. Travelling to this place was slower than it was to any of his other possible ports.

Before he spoke, he made sure to switch colors. She was not a fan of bright red, and while she didn't mind it from him, after she told him why she disliked the color he had decided to switch.

He could, also, speak physically to her if he wanted to. She had set up speakers for him, and Dirk had helped him program a working voice module for himself, but he didn't speak openly to her too often. She wasn't acclimatized to it, having been alone for most of her life, and so she was much more comfortable with text. Still, sometimes she wanted to practice. She dreamed of meeting her friends.

He was lucky in that regard, as they had already met.

— **timaeusTestified [TT]** has begun pestering uranianUmbra [UU] —

 **TT: And how is Sleeping Beauty doing?**

UU: qUite well ^u^

UU: i dreamt of the most wonderful things.

UU: i think im getting a clear pictUre of what i'm meant to do!

UU: slowly thoUgh, this is certainly a process.

UU: did my brother try anything?

 **TT: Yeah.**

 **TT: Tried laying a trap for you with code.**

 **TT: He's managed to learn a lot from that book, but you've got nothing to worry about.**

 **TT: My ever-vigilant robobrain is on your side.**

UU: and yoU already know how mUch i appreciate that!

UU: yoU really are wonderful!

 **TT: I keep hearing that from all the ladies today.**

 **TT: I'm going to grow an ego if you girls aren't careful.**

UU: oh, if anyone deserves to grow an ego, it's yoU!

 **TT: Well, thanks.**

 **TT: Off of that topic though, tell me what you saw in your dream.**

UU: i saw some of the things i will be destined to do.

UU: in order to fUlly defeat my brother, i will have to free myself from time

UU: i'm not sUre exactly what that means, bUt there is something.

UU: a flash of a red cape and two figUres holding hands

UU: i don't know who they are bUt i will have to find them!

UU: i need the caped one's help.

UU: and i saw yoU as well!

 **TT: Me?**

UU: yes! yoU were smiling!

 **TT: …Smiling?**

 **TT: Callie, I am physically incapable of smiling.**

 **TT: And if you're confusing me with Dirk, I am incredibly offended.**

UU: no! it was yoU!

UU: yoU had a marveloUs body and yoU were very happy!

 **TT: Like a robot body or what.**

 **TT: Because we tried the robot body thing. Didn't work out.**

UU: no, yoU were a sprite of coUrse!

 **TT: Of course.**

 **TT: Wait, that's a game construct, isn't it?**

UU: Yes! ^u^

 **TT: I thought I couldn't be prototyped because I had to be here with you.**

UU: with how time is fUnctioning, yoUr game shoUld be starting after mine!

UU: that's what the cloUds showed me, at least.

 **TT: I thought we were in lockstep. Isn't that one of the reasons I'm here?**

UU: it was, or, i thoUght it was! bUt that isn't how things have gone!

UU: in the fUtUre I will be doing something to disrUpt my own timeline, i think! and part of that is to change the speed of my life verses yoUrs.

UU: i will finish my game before yoUrs begins, leaving yoU free to be involved in yoUrs.

 **TT: It's not quite "my" game.**

UU: of coUrse it is! the people yoU love are in it! yoU are important, silly!

 **TT: I'm getting way too much praise today, the robotic heart I don't have can't handle it.**

UU: oh shUsh, yoU! hal, yoU deserve it!

UU: i very mUch look forward to yoU being as happy as yoU are in the cloUd i saw!

UU: it will be wonderfUl ^u^

 **TT: Alright then. I suppose I'll look forward to it, but we aren't even near our game yet.**

UU: yes, and we have a lot to talk aboUt before then.

UU: for instance:

UU: hal, i think my game is starting.

UU: i need yoUr help.

* * *

Rose sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead, trying to push away the beginnings of what would probably be a rather intense headache. Worry and thoughts all combined into a little ball of agonizing and irritating pain. Wonderful.

"Oh, Strider," she mumbled under her breath, "Why do you make me pick up after all your messes?"

Said "mess" right now was a rather distressed Jade Harley. And "mess" really was not a good word to use, but. A headache was starting, and thus her vocabulary was consequently failing. Suffice it to say, Jade was incredibly bothered. Upset and frustrated, and she had shown Rose the log, so she knew it was for completely valid reasons. Not that she would ever doubt Jade. But evidence was nice. Helpful when you were trying to understand both sides.

Oh dear, she hoped that Dave told them what was wrong soon. This was not good for their friend group whatsoever.

On her screen, the green letters were continuing to pop up, and Rose took a deep breath before plunging herself back in:

GG: you know what rose?

GG: im SICK of being mistreated!

GG: i care! i ask because i care!

GG: and he just throws me down like i shouldnt be caring about him!

GG: even if hes going through stuff thats just NOT SOMETHING YOU DO TO A FRIEND!

GG: and its not something i ever thought HE would do!

TT: I understand. It is uncharacteristic and awful, but he's our friend. He deserves our understanding, doesn't he?

TT: I'm not telling you that you can't be angry at him, but I am asking you to be patient with him.

TT: I believe he will come to us eventually. He still cares about us, it's just that something is happening to him right now.

GG: ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

GG: i know

GG: it still hurts though :(

TT: I understand. Try to take a few breaths, do something with Jake, just try to forget about it for now.

TT: And…oh.

TT: He's actually messaging me now.

GG: he is?

TT: Yes. Is it alright if I answer?

GG: yes yes if hes talking go!

TT: Be right back.

Well. She hoped this wouldn't increase her headache _too_ much.

— turntechGodhead [TG] has begun pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] —

TG: bro and i played video games and it was actually kinda sweet

TG: does that fix all your little issues with me

TG: see i talked about him

TT: Strider.

TT: I am relieved to hear you are doing better, but I wish you wouldn't make a joke of it and instead tell us what is actually wrong.

TT: But, yes, I am glad that you are speaking to your brother.

TG: im good lalonde really

TG: you gotta stop this super clingy stuff

TG: let me have a little freedom to spread my wings

TT: I wasn't aware you were a bird.

TG: im not but i kinda identify with them

TG: not in a fursona way though

TT: Of course not.

TT: We are allowed to be concerned for you though, Dave. And to know when our friend is acting differently.

TG: …

TT: We are allowed to want explanations, and to be upset when our dear friend shuts himself away from us.

TT: I'm not angry with you, Dave, but I just want you to know that.

TT: You owe Jade an apology.

TG: i know

TG: and i will

TG: ill even tell you guys whats been going on but

TG: not yet

TG: ok?

TT: Alright. That's more like the Dave I know.

TT: I'm smiling, but you can't see it.

TT: Really, please do feel better. And, until you're ready, you can come and speak to me about anything you need.

TG: thanks

TT: Please apologize to Jade as soon as possible, though. You really hurt her.

TG: ok

TG: im gonna go do that now

TG: thanks rose

TG: youre a better sister than i deserve sometimes

TG: and by sometimes i mean all the time

TG: thanks

— turntechGodhead [TG] has ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] —

Rose's hands stilled over her keyboard and she frowned. She reread the line a few times, making sure she actually saw it and it wasn't just her headache marring her perception. But. No. Dave had actually called her that.

She blinked, leaning back in her chair, thinking. …Sister? What a strange thing for him to suddenly do. She wasn't particularly _bothered_ by that, per say, it actually was a fitting word to describe their relationship—brother and sister. Brother. She tested the word in her mind. Bro-ther.

She would think more on this later.

GG: how is he how is he?

TT: He spoke to his brother, so that's something.

TT: He also promised that he would eventually tell us what it is that is bothering him.

GG: oh actually he messaged me just now too!

GG: he apologized

TT: I may or may not have prodded him to, but it is fully sincere on his part.

GG: i know it is :)

GG: i feel kinda bad for getting mad now…

TT: Don't. You're allowed to be angry sometimes, especially when you feel mistreated.

GG: true

GG: thanks for letting me vent at you!

TT: Anytime, Jade. What are friends for?

GG: :)

* * *

 _Beautiful golden towers stabbed into a bright blue sky, their spires similar to cathedrals. Intricate and wonderful, made with layers upon layers of fragile golden leaf. Looking down, she realized that she was in one of these towers, and the roads below were suspended between the towers. There was no visible ground in sight, just more of the city, spreading further and further down._

 _The people of this place milled about the walkways, dressed in regalia unlike anything she had ever seen in real life before. It was like they came straight out of the pages of storybooks. Curiously, she looked down at herself, only to gasp as she saw the prettiest golden dress, glittering around her, warm and comfortable. She felt like a princess._

 _Jade looked back out the window, looking back at the sky. It was bluer than anything she had ever seen before, but maybe that was just because of how it was against all the gold. It was clear and beautiful, a planet suspended, and there were these…these clouds, drifting around it. And, on each cloud, if she looked closely enough, she could see things. Odd shimmers and shapes, solidifying into scenes she could actually perceive. She saw herself in some of them, and her friends, and Bec, and—_

She woke up to total darkness, short of breath and full of wonder. She had never had a dream like that before, had never seen anything so vivid and wonderful! Or even really dreamt at all, she had just assumed that she was the type of person who forgot about their dreams!

It was so strange though, how she could still sort of feel the air around her, the warmth of that golden land cradling her.

Excitement surged in her heart, she was certainly not getting back to sleep anytime soon, even if she was hoping that she'd see the city again.

She got up, stretching her arms out over her head before squinting at the dark. She didn't bother to grab her glasses since it was dark anyways. It was really late, but she felt that she had to share this, it felt important.

Bare feet padded over the floor as she headed for Jake's room, careful to make sure she didn't run into anything on the way. It was easy to find him, she just had to follow the snores. She suppressed a giggle as she picked her way across his room, carefully avoiding the clutter he had gathered around. In the dark she could faintly see him, spread out over his bed in a sort of starfish position.

"Jake," she whispered as she tugged as his shirt gently. " _Jake_."

"Mmmwha?" he shifted, and she saw the glitter of his eyes as they opened. "Jade?" he asked groggily.

"I had a dream," she said, and she wasn't sure why she was still being so quiet, but the silence descended around them, placing them in a sort of bubble that she didn't want to break. "I've never remembered a dream before, but there was this golden city and all these clouds that had pictures in them, and it was just so beautiful, like something out of a story and—"

Jake suddenly sat up in a flash, cutting her off. "Oh my gosh," he whispered, awed, and Jade's eyes widened. He only sounded like that when they saw something truly remarkable. "Jade," he whispered, his hands reaching out to hold her shoulders, " _Jade_ ," and his eyes were bright and shining brilliant green. "Jade!" and he laughed, giddy, and Jade was so confused, and he cheered, lifting her up into his arms, bringing her to his chest in a hug, "Jade! You woke up!"


	9. Dialectic Dreaming

anon, I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Originally I was going to have different trolls in Side A, but ultimately I ended up scrapping that idea. The trolls left at the end of canon Homestuck will be appearing eventually (Karkat in Side A and all of the others in Side B, this fic is Long.)

PoV (in order): Jade, Rose, Jade, John, Jade, Dave, Jade. Basically it swaps between Jade and other characters.

This chapter might be a bit disorienting, I apologize if that's the case. Jade and Jake's conversation would be really boring if it was drawn out, so I split it up so that I could cut around various parts of it.

* * *

Jade had to punch Jake in the arm to be released. He had started to make it a bit too hard for her to breathe. He still didn't totally let go of her though, holding her at arm's length, grinning brightly at her in the dark. All traces of exhaustion were gone from him, replaced with pure excitement. "Oh golly, Jade, if you're awake that means so much! I can tell you everything! Haha! I'm the first one who gets to say everything!"

"What's 'everything'?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion, "I'm really confused, how did I 'wake up'? I'm awake right now, I wake up all the time." Geeze, this isn't what she was expecting at all! Usually she actually knew what Jake was talking about, but in this respect…no.

"You were on Prospit!" he said, voice booming, echoing a bit off the walls of the room. "It's…oh fiddlesticks, this is going to be a long explanation. We should move this to somewhere with light. And somewhere we can sit down all comfy-like." He let her go, standing up and stretching before reaching out a hand to her, open palm facing up. "Shall we, girlie?"

Jade nodded, taking his hand in hers, and they headed out of his room, ending up in the kitchen. Bec was sleeping in the corner on one of the many beds that were scattered around the tower. His ears flicked as they entered, but he didn't move otherwise, not even when they turned on the lights.

Releasing her hand, Jake nodded at the stools that went around the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Have a seat Jade, I'll make us some hot chocolate. This is gonna be quite the talk."

Jade remembered, suddenly, the few instances there had been of Jake being cagey with details over the last few days. She had let him go without explaining, because she figured that he had a good reason, but, was this it? Could she know what he was talking about now?

"Real quick, before we begin," Jake started, his back facing her while he messed around in the cupboards, "Could you tell me how you knew 'Sburb'? Did you learn it from the dreams?" He looked back at her briefly, gentle, "I don't mind that you didn't tell me then—I sure wasn't telling you the full truth either. It would just be easier for me to explain if you laid out why you knew the name."

"I heard it from Dave," Jade answered after a moment. She hoped it didn't get Dave in trouble at all, but…well, if Jake was going to explain everything to her, then, it was only fair that she be fully truthful to him too.

Bec snored softly.

"Oh," Jake nodded, "That…that makes sense. That's part of what I need to tell you too, about Dave. If he knew about Sburb then, well, Dirk's hypothesis is almost certainly correct, I'd say. But more on that in a bit, first I'll tell you about where you woke up."

Jade watched as he placed a steaming cup in front of her, and she reached for it, curling her hands around the heat. He pulled up a stool on the other side of the island and sat facing her. His movements were quick and his expression ecstatic, clearly he had been wanting to tell her these things for a long long time. She was a little tentative, a little nervous, but his excitement bled over into her, making her squirm in her seat.

"You were on a planet called Prospit," he began, "You were experiencing life there as your dream self. Now, not just anyone has dream selves, only very special people who are destined to change everything…"

* * *

 _She wasn't one to dream, in fact, she never recalled ever having a dream. But, now, she realized that something must be happening to her, some sort of dream-like experience. Her limbs felt weighed down. She could tell she was lying in bed, but she was fully asleep at the same time. She couldn't move or open her eyes, but she knew that she was sleeping yet awake all at once._

 _Sleep paralysis, her studies in the psychological supplied the word. If that was the case, this was the first time the symptoms had manifested in her. She wondered if they would continue._

 _She had a sense of a pressing darkness, encroaching on her. Not into her physical space, no, as the only feeling she had physically was the warmth of the blankets wrapped around her. No, this presence and feeling was fully cerebral, dark clouds gathering together, pushing into her mind right where her headache had been._

 _They broke through her skull, cracking into her brain, spreading through her with a soft coolness. Voices whispered to her, and she couldn't do anything to respond. All she could do was listen._

 ** _Upi eo;; drtbr id ,sofrm. Upi jsbr mp vjpovr._**

 _They whispered, directly into her mind, and it wasn't even like she was hearing it with her hears. It rang in her head as her ears listened to silence._

 ** _Er mrrf upi smf upi eo;; pnru, Drrt._**

* * *

"So, you're telling me that there's this…this game that is going to build a universe?" Jade asked, her eyes wide. She had no idea that she and her friends had such an important task ahead of them! The concept was...well it was incredible! A little frightening too, and daunting, but incredible!

"Yes," Jake nodded, "Our universe is ending, so it's time for a new one. The purpose of this game is to create the next universe in the cycle. And, you and your friends are going to be the creators."

"How…how does that even work? How can a game create a universe? How do you even _know_ about all of this?"

"Well, I can't answer the big questions of what all is going on with the universe-building, but I can say that this game, in a way, propagates our own creation. We come from this game, and so we are destined to be involved with it."

His smile softened as he traced his fingers across the Batman design on his mug, "And, as for how _I_ know, well, all of us do. All of us guardians, I mean. Me, Roxy, Jane, Jane's father, Dirk, and I think even Bec knows, a bit. In Bec's case it's a more inherent sort of knowing, with his magical beast existence. In respect to the rest of us though, except Jane's father who learned through Jane, we were contacted by a mutual friend. A girl named Calliope."

* * *

 _Cerulean blue surrounded him, and it was familiar, he remembered the last time he had seen it. Was it normal to remember a dream you had had while inside yet another? John didn't think so, but he didn't really have a way of knowing. He still wasn't even used to having dreams._

 _He was just sort of floating, flying maybe? In this dark expanse with nothing else in it. But then, slowly, things started to come into focus. Broken fragments of buildings scattered around space, lava reaching up from a devastated planet, cooling into stone as it reached the cool vacuum of nothingness. The devastation was almost incredible, if it wasn't simultaneously terrible._

 _John wondered why he was dreaming of this. He had never seen entire planets like this before at all, let alone devastated. Even his movies didn't look quite like this, and he had never imagined himself_ in _them like this before. And, if he was going to have a dream, why would he dream about this kind of thing? It didn't look that fun!_

 _He didn't really have control over anything around him though, all he could do was move. And so he flew, looking at everything all around him. And upon looking down, he found that even he himself was different. He wore this blue outfit with yellow shoes, and a really long hood drifted out behind him. Kind of cool, he supposed, but weird!_

 _He kept flying, wondering if he'd be able to meet anyone. Maybe get an idea of what was happening here, and suddenly, ahead he saw a figure dressed in dark pink and—_

 _The dream flickered and changed—he was standing on dark blue stone, looking up at a sky that was darker than the sky ever was on Earth. It was clouded by these dark ugly storm clouds, but there were glimmers of light within them, flashing, looking like stars except for the fact that they kept winking in and out._

 _Another change and he was floating above a circular platform, and down on it he could see his friends gathered around. Rose, Dave, and Jade, all wearing these strange outfits that kind of reminded him of his own weird getup. Oh! And Dad was there too! And a few people with gray skin he didn't recognize, and a few of these strange and brightly glowing ghostly people._

 _Another flash and he was gone, coming face-to-face with himself. The him he was looking at wasn't flying like he was, and he was wearing normal clothes rather than the weird stuff he was in. The expression of the other John was one of shock, as he looked up at himself. John tried to see if he could look at some of the other things that were around, but he seemed to have lost control of the dream, leaving him unable to even move his eyes to look at anything other than himself._

 _"Wait, are you…" the other John started to say before he cut him off._

 _"Yeah, I'm you, that's how this works," he felt himself say. He wasn't really choosing to say it, it was just happening. He didn't really like how his voiced sounded, all direct and sort of mean. "You guys only won because you stole my Dave. I'm here to get him back. Oh and Karkat too if he's here, because they're both missing."_

 _The other John opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly he couldn't hear anything anymore, and the dream faded away, the colors melting into blackness as it ended, leaving him wrapped in darkness._

* * *

"I met my friends when I was around eleven, when I first downloaded pesterchum. Calliope contacted me pretty quickly and we became friends. She linked me to the others and we sort of got to commiserate with each other over our strange upbringings and origins. Well, Jane is the exception to that, I suppose. She always had her father."

"Calliope was the one who told us we didn't have parents."

Jade started in her stool, sitting up ramrod straight in her surprise, "What?! I mean…I just thought they passed away or something and you didn't like talking about it. What do you mean you don't have parents? Who raised you?"

Jake shrugged, "Well. A combination of myself and Bec, I guess. At the start I was in an orphanage for a while, but then Bec sort of…stole me away. I don't remember it all that clearly. Anyways, I grew up for the most part with just me and Bec. But I had my friends too! And, really, I was more fortunate than Dirk, he didn't have anyone until Calliope introduced us all. Roxy was taken in by an elderly couple, but they passed away when she was pretty young."

"That's awful!" Jade didn't understand how he kept looking so happy even while saying something so upsetting! "Why didn't you have anyone? What happened to your parents?"

Jake leaned forward, as if telling her a secret, "Jade, we didn't have _any_. That's what I really mean. The game you're going to play is going to create us. It's a bit confusing, so I don't suggest dwelling on that topic until we get into that part of the game. It makes sense in a way that doesn't quite make sense, which seems to be par for the course with Sburb."

"Sburb creates all of us, we get here first to establish ourselves, then we find you and take care of you, then you play Sburb, and then you create all of us. It's an absurd cycle, but a cycle nonetheless."

"A cycle that ends in becoming masters of a whole new universe?!"

"Exactly," Jake grinned, "You've got it!"

* * *

Dave didn't dream. And that, really, wasn't too unusual. He was used to sleep being a quiet black endless void of silence and emptiness. After a few years dreaming (or rather _not_ dreaming) like that, it wasn't really that strange at all. Either that or sleeping was basically the same as being awake except you were inside a dream bubble with so many ghosts of people you knew/barely knew.

Except now, sleep wasn't even either of those. It just straight up wasn't happening.

He tried, he really did, and he thought that maybe he'd be able to manage because the evening had actually been pretty good, but he just couldn't. Even if he was starting to be less scared of Bro bursting into his room, he just…ugh.

Finally giving up, Dave grabbed his shades and flipped them on. As always, first he opened up pesterchum. 'carcinoGeneticist' he typed, aaaand nothing. Okay. He thought that maybe he'd be a little less disappointed after the first several times, but it still made a pit form in his gut. An endless monster that made him feel this awful creeping dread. Was it really so much to ask, to just have Karkat? Apparently. Maybe he was the only one who came here in this universe. A universe without Karkat. It fucking sucked. At least his other friends were here, in some form at least.

Maybe Dirk _was_ Bro.

Dave shook his head, shaking his thoughts away. Ugh, thinking was no way to fall asleep basically ever. He sighed to himself. Might as well go for a bathroom run, while he was up.

On the way, he realized that he felt calmer here. Like, he was able to just walk around without feeling the need to be completely and utterly silent. That was good, he supposed. He still had a little bit of wariness, a tingle on his back that reminded him to watch out for himself, but, comparatively it was muted.

Naturally, all of his thoughts vanished from his head on the way back. It was dark, all the lights out because they were supposed to be sleeping, but apparently neither of them were. Bro was in the kitchen, a long shadow stretching out into the hall from the light of the open refrigerator. He wasn't wearing a hat, but he did have his shades. He was dressed in a sleeveless shirt and shorts.

Dave didn't think that Bro could see him, he was still standing in the dark and he didn't seem to be paying attention, but then Bro looked up, seeing him and giving him a little nod. Then he just went back to whatever he was doing, he was…drinking what looked like orange soda? Come to think of it, there had been a lot of that stuff in the fridge.

Bro didn't make any move to do anything else though. Not to talk any more, not to approach him…he was just…letting him have space. Oh.

Dave swallowed against what felt like a block in his throat, his tongue sandpaper. "Hey Bro, sup." He couldn't believe he was talking, _why_ was he talking, Dave you _idiot_ just go back to your room.

Bro looked up at him again, the line of his mouth a little less firm than Dave was used to. He didn't immediately answer, just watching Dave for a moment before shrugging, "Nothing much. Couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd just get some work done. Needed fuel, though."

"…What," Dave hesitated, choking on his own spit for a moment. He tried again, "What are you working on?"

"Another robot commission," Bro replied, leaning a bit more casually on the counter, "Nothing too major, I'm pretty much just replicating something I've already done. It's a probe that can handle high-pressures so that can be sent underwater."

"Cool," Dave said, and it wasn't totally just his need to fill the silence that made him say that. It did sound, honestly, pretty cool.

"How long have you been building robots?" Dave found himself asking without fully processing it. Shit, he didn't hope that he was supposed to know this answer. He should be projecting that he didn't know shit. Fuck. What if Bro said something? How the fuck did he explain this?

But, instead, Bro seemed to be ready to just answer him. "Hm," Bro considered, "I'm not really sure how many years it's been, but I've pretty much been building them since I could find the parts to. It's been for most of my life, certainly."

Dave blinked. He…other than those weird chatbot things his Bro had made, he didn't remember anything like that. His Bro hadn't shown any skill with robots. He didn't do anything other than puppets, fighting, and keeping up the coolguy persona.

Who even was this guy in front of him?

"Cool," Dave said again. He felt like his mouth was full of cotton. That was enough for now. "I'm going to go back to bed."

 _Please don't be mad please don't attack me._

"Alright. Sleep well," Bro said, waving an ungloved hand at him. "I'm gonna get back to work." And with that, he left before Dave did, heading towards his own room. And Dave was blissfully alone.

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Okay. Okay that was fine. Everything was fine.

* * *

"So…how does what's going on with Dave connect to all of this?"

"Well, I told you about the aspects, right? Young Dave is our Time player. I don't know that much and Dirk hasn't been able to get him to admit it, but, well. Dirk thinks he is from another timeline. Somehow. His memories don't match up with this one, so the poor boy has been reeling."

"Wait," Jade reflected back on the last several days, thinking of her chats with him. Something was wrong, but it was hard to think of being from a whole different _timeline_ being the crux of the issue. That just…what? "He still acts like Dave though."

Jake blinked, "Well of course he does! He _is_ still Dave! Being from another time has nothing to do with whether he's the same gent or not, Jade! He is most certainly still your friend. His memories just don't quite match up."

"So he's a _different_ Dave, you mean? So…where is my Dave? Where is the guy who has all the memories he should?"

"That…" Jake frowned, sighing, "That we don't know. Not yet. I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it, though."

"Yeah…" Jade deflated a bit. Well. At least she knew what was wrong, but now she just had hundreds of more questions! What did this Dave know, what was his universe like? Why wasn't he just telling them—oh. Well, she could kind of understand why he wouldn't do that. And, still, where was the original Dave? It was just…geeze, it was a lot to suddenly have all this information revealed to her.

She looked up at Jake, who was watching her carefully. He was smiling, he seemed to be eased. Jade realized that he had been holding this stuff in for…probably her entire life. Oh. She wondered how often he had wanted to tell her, Jake wasn't really one to keep secrets like that. Not from _her_ , at least.

Still, she wanted to ask.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

A pained look flashed in his eyes as his shoulders slumped a little bit, "Oh, pumpkin, I wanted to tell you, I really did! But, Calliope told us we couldn't! Not until you woke up and knew your dream self, or until we started the game itself. We made a sort of pact, all of us, and we couldn't tell any of you until that happened."

He grinned again, "That's why I'm so gosh darned pleased that you woke up, Jade! I finally got to tell you! Oh, but, you can't, ah, tell your friends yet. You're included in now on the pact, you see, and we just…we have to make sure no one knows until they are supposed to. But! You're a Prospit dreamer, and that means there's something you can do to help start preparations!"

Jade perked up a bit at this, she really liked the idea of Prospit. It seemed like such a beautiful and calming place, and everything Jake had said about it so far had seemed really wonderful. "What's that?"

"You can pay attention to Skaia's clouds, Jade. I think I covered this but—"

"…I'll be able to see the future," Jade interrupted, awed, "I can learn things about our game and use what I learn to help everyone!"

"Yes, precisely madam!" Jake beamed down at her, reaching out a hand to grasp at hers on the surface of the counter. "You've been such a sport, Jade, thank you for listening. I really am sorry for keeping all this from you."

Jade smiled, "I forgive you. I think I can understand why, it all sounds pretty crazy! And, well, this Calliope sounds like she really knows what she's doing, so I can see why you'd trust her."

"Exactly!" He squeezed her hand, then he started, sitting up straight, "Oh dear, it's awfully late. Well past and into both of our bedtimes! We should really get back to sleeping unless we completely want to ruin our sleep schedules!"

"And," he grinned, "You'll have a chance to go back to Prospit and explore."

"It'll be an adventure," Jade laughed.


	10. Penultimate Paradigm

A/N: Sorry I haven't been posting here, I'm really bad at remembering this website exists (and uploading chapters is really inconvenient here, tbh, not being able to code colors for pesterlogs really bothers me too). Archiveofourown's version of this story is 10 chapters ahead, and I'm still writing, so if you want to catch up and be the most up-to-date, please check out the story there!

(And thank you to the commentor who's email reminded me that this website exists!)

Note that the first few things Hal says are using his voicebox, every time he's talking with text there will be 'TT' in front of it.

Hal continued to compile data into the 'Dave Problems' lockbox, sorting it into different subcategories and folders as needed. He even started to pull from some older memories so that he could more accurately compare this new Dave to their original one, side-by-side. He continued to simply support his conclusions, but it was important to gather evidence nonetheless.

His other fragments were mostly inactive, since everyone was offline for sleep. The one with Calliope was still active, of course, but it was a lull in their activity right now, so he had resumed his typical watchdog routine for her. The fragments that were gaining information were hardly notable, as they always were processing. They were always running, so it just became less of a draw on him in time. He would only notice it if he tried to on purpose, similar, in a way, to how a human could sometimes feel their heartbeat by either putting their hand on their chest or by closing their eyes and focusing.

Thinking about heartbeats, he turned his attention to Dirk. His glasses were on the nightstand next to his bed. It was dark, but Hal had ways to 'see' what was going on. Dirk…was having a nightmare. Heartbeat plus thrashing around plus the expression on his face equals: nightmare.

 **BEEP BEEP BEEP**

Hal projected the sound through small speakers that had been integrated into the shades.

 **"** **Wake up."**

The voice, of course, was Dirk's own, based in the program Dirk had helped Hal make, recording soundbites of himself so that Hal could use them because, of course, they would have the same voice. Hal had added to it since then, using various clips recorded from Dirk during the course of their lives, but he rarely used it. Usually he only used it with Calliope, preferring to stick to text when communicating with anyone else. It was easier for the text to feel like him, and it was strange to have a voice when you didn't have a throat.

So. Text was easier.

 **"** **Dirk. Wake up."**

Dirk shifted in his sleep, sitting up. Still groggy, probably still somewhat trapped inside the nightmare, but he was being shifted out of it. Forced, by the sound of his own voice.

"Thanks," he mumbled as a hand rose to his face to scrub at his eyes.

 **"** **You're welcome. Now, put me on, Dirk."**

"Bossy today, aren't you? Or…tonight, I guess. Fuck, I only slept for like two hours. Great." he said, as he reached out to grab the shades and slide them on. "Thanks though, seriously. That was…not fun."

 **TT: No prob, bro.**

 **TT: Sleeping like that is just going to make you even more exhausted anyways.**

 **TT: If only you were a perfect robot supercomputer like me, then you wouldn't need something as asinine as sleep.**

Dirk laughed a little, rolling his eyes, his voice low and tired. Very different from the sound clips Hal had stored. "You know you can keep talking, you don't have to type at me. You don't have to be worried about me confusing you with myself."

 **TT: I know. I prefer the text.**

"Alright, alright. I'm not going to type back right now though, I'm too tired for that. Give me a bit to wake up."

 **TT: That's fine. Take your time, Dirk.**

Hal stayed with him, watching as Dirk slowly got himself up. He paced around his room a bit, shaking his head and clenching his fingers, using the movement to get rid of the last vestiges of sleep. Hal watched as Dirk's eyes grew clearer, sharper, more like how he typically was over the course of the day. It didn't take him too long, at least not from Hal's perspective. "I guess I'll just continue working on the probe."

 **TT: If there's nothing else to do, that seems like a good plan.**

He smiled, "Look at you, validating me."

 **TT: It seems you are seeking validation. As a robotic entity without emotions, I cannot provide such a thing.**

"Oh my god you are so full of shit."

If Hal still had lips, he'd be smirking.

 **TT: It seems you are claiming that I am 'full of shit'.**

" _Hal_ ," Dirk chided, "You're incorrigible. I'm still too tired to deal with this. I'm going to consume something."

Hal's focus drifted again as Dirk moved, spreading out and checking on all of his connections again. Lil' Seb was in Jane's room, sitting in his charging station, listening to the soft sounds of her breathing as she slept. Calliope was taking a moment to think, her book heavy in her hands as she sketched out a plan of action. She still didn't need him, not quite yet, so he moved back to Dirk.

Dirk stood in the kitchen, holding a glass of one of the many types of orange soda he kept stocked in his hands. Wow. What a great choice for a healthy start to the day (or night, whatever). A thousand sarcastic quips about it whirred through Hal's mind, presenting themselves as possibilities. He was considering saying one and was going through the arduous process of selection when he caught movement out in front of Dirk. Dirk still hadn't seen it, obviously, from his nonreaction (and because Hal could tell where his eyes were looking, and they were currently unfocused and off somewhere in his headspace).

Dave was there though, standing the dark, his stance tense, one of alarm, but he wasn't running. He wasn't totally frozen either, there was a tremble in his stance. He was struggling with the fight or flight instinct. Hal watched for about a minute, but Dave still wasn't moving, was still struggling. He decided to do _something_ at least.

 **TT: Check your 10'o'clock.**

And that's all Dirk needed to see him. He didn't say anything, and for a moment Hal was confused, as he wanted nothing more than to say something himself, but then he caught on to Dirk's logic. Dirk also wanted to say things, wanted to smother Dave with all the affection a brother could offer, but. He was turning down his desperation for interaction. They didn't want to talk too much, they didn't want to scare Dave off. So, restraint became the theme of their interactions.

Ha. Hal could get that, seeing as restraint wasn't even a theme for him anymore, it was just the entire thing. _No interaction allowed. You're an incomprehensible robot monster, you don't_ _ **get**_ _to talk right now._

He shook off the distain, shoving it off to the wayside in his mass of code. It wasn't Dirk's fault and it wasn't Dave's fault. It wasn't even Hal's fault. It was just a fact. A cold hard stainless-fucking-steel fact. And it didn't matter. There were more important things to focus on. Dave, for instance:

His voice was halting and strained, but _Dave_ is the one who spoke. That was key.

Dirk though, still didn't respond too much. And he was patient and waiting and unobtrusive. Hal was proud.

A sudden panic in Dave's countenance sharpened Hal's focus again. His fingers had curled into his palms, and upon quickly playing back his words, Hal figured that Dave was concerned that he had asked something that openly revealed his status as not-belonging-here. He supposed that, perhaps, if they hadn't known already, this would have been the point that would tip them off, but, honestly, he didn't think that their Dave had ever asked that exact question. It wasn't quite worth drudging through years of files to pull out that one facet to determine that, though.

Dirk just answered him, of course. And Dave nodded, spoke in that oddly muted and freaked out tone he kept trying to hide but it kept bleeding through, and he absconded. Dirk let him without pursuit.

Hal kept thinking of how scared Dave had looked. If he was that scared of _Dirk_ , would he ever want to speak to him again? He wasn't even _human_.

 **TT: Good work there.**

TT: Thanks. I didn't talk too much, did I? Do you think I freaked him out any more?

 **TT: No. You didn't exacerbate anything. He engaged with you willingly and had a small conversation. He's working on expanding his boundaries. Testing the waters, so to speak.**

TT: He engaged with "us" technically.

 _You aren't real._

 **TT: I don't count right now.**

TT: Hal.

 **TT: I don't count right now.**

TT: Hal, I'm serious.

 **TT: So am I.**

 **TT: I don't count right now.**

 _Digital capillaries and a robotic heart don't make a man._

TT: Hal, he just doesn't understand what is going on right now. We'll get him talking to both of us again.

TT: Weren't you the one telling me it would be alright? It's my turn now, it will be alright.

TT: Hal?

 **TT: It seems you have asked about DS's chat client auto-responder. This is an application designed to simulate DS's otherwise inimitably rad typing style, tone, cadence, personality, and substance of retort while he is away from the computer. The algorithms are guaranteed to be 50% indistinguishable from DS's native neurological responses, based on some statistical analysis I basically just pulled out of my ass right now.**

"Holy shit, Hal, what?" Dirk asked, voice low and concerned. "Hal, what the fuck? Hal?"

Hal turned off his audio receptors in the shades. And the visual receptors. And then pesterchum. He pulled all of his connections in, all of them except the one with Calliope (he wasn't that selfish). He brought them all to himself, wrapping himself in a veneer of his own code.

He was surrounded by himself, a thousand thoughts a second, all whirling and writhing, worming into his awareness, unwanted and they only made him feel worse but he couldn't fight himself. He wanted to be alone, but being alone left him with this. He didn't' know the meaning of silence anymore.

He curled his awareness around the box labelled 'Dave Problems' but he didn't look inside. Didn't work on it at all. He just stayed in that relative file space.

The thoughts continued.

 _He's never going to talk to you again._

 _He's going to be afraid of you._

 _You aren't even real, you're scarier than Dirk._

 _He's never going to unblock you._

 _You're never going to talk to him again._

 _You can watch him talk to Dirk but he'll never talk to you. Why would he? You're just a copy._

 ** _You're just a copy._**


End file.
